


Subject NV01- Part TWO

by killerofcanon



Series: Subject NV01 [2]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, Cecil is a tentacle monster, Fluff, M/M, No Porn, Strexcorp, Tentacles, but in a cute way, just plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 03:00:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8873089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerofcanon/pseuds/killerofcanon
Summary: Life is never the same once you've been to Night Vale.





	1. Hatred Renewed

**Author's Note:**

> Read the first if you haven't! (If you have, it's been edited, so go there anyway)

Carlos sat on the couch with Cecil. They were watching Carlos’s favorite science documentary. It was about space, and after every other thing the narrator said, Cecil scoffed in disbelief. Carlos found it entertaining that Cecil refused to believe most things about space. He thought back to the day he moved in, about two weeks ago. He had moved in fairly quickly, since all he had was the one suitcase he was able to get from his apartment. The spare room was down the hall from Cecil’s, and he even had his own bathroom. Carlos had promised to show Cecil what real Mexican food was like that night, and he knew he should be cooking, he didn’t want to break the serenity of sitting on the couch and hearing about space with Cecil. Their torsos were about a foot apart, but their feet were almost touching because the footrest was between them. Two of Cecil’s tentacles were out, and one was gently poking and tickling Carlos’s bare foot. Carlos had surprised himself at how quickly Cecil’s tentacles just became a fact of life. He barely remembered what it was like to live with someone with the standard amount of limbs.  
“Carlos, are you still going to cook tonight?” Cecil asked, tipping his foot to the side to tap Carlos’s.  
“Yeah, sorry. I’ll start that now.” Carlos got up and walked to the kitchen. There weren’t any walls that separated the two rooms, so he could still see Cecil. Cecil had turned around, and was peering at Carlos from over the top of the couch like a puppy. “What?” Carlos chuckled. Cecil’s mannerisms were often full of childlike wonder, which made it hard to believe he had been through what he had. Carlos found his habits… neat.  
“Can I help?” Cecil asked hopefully.  
“Uh… sure, I think I can find something for you to do.” Carlos figured. Cecil darted over to the kitchen and stood beside Carlos.  
“What can I do?” Cecil smiled brightly. Carlos had noticed that Cecil was bouncing back even before they stayed at the motel, but somehow he had bounced back even further into an ever more bubbly, happy person. Carlos assumed that meant Cecil had recovered from everything that happened in the past few years. The rate at which he bounced back was incredible to Carlos, and he wanted to study Cecil’s brain to see if there was something different about it that could be causing that. But, more than that, he didn’t want Cecil to feel like a science experiment ever again, so he resolved to leave the science experimenting at his new lab near the pizza place.  
“Hm… you can get the black beans out of the freezer and put them in a pan on the stove.” Carlos told him. Cecil did just that, smiling the whole time. Carlos buttered a tortilla and put it in a frying pan, turning the stove on low heat. He turned the stove section under Cecil’s pan to medium. “Okay, you stir that. I’m going to cut up a tomato.” They kept cooking. Cecil accidentally flicked a bean at Carlos while he stirred, and it landed right on Carlos’s face, under his eye. Cecil looked nervous, like he thought Carlos would be mad. Carlos laughed and threw the bean back at Cecil. They ended up laughing hysterically and having a miniature food fight with frozen vegetables.  
When they finished cooking, Carlos presented the plates to the dining table. He and Cecil sat down across from each other. Carlos felt himself blushing at their date-like position, and took a few gulps from his water glass to hide it. Cecil was absorbed in the meal he was chewing. Carlos looked at Cecil’s face, which looked either like he was tasting the food of the gods, or like he was going to throw up. Carlos couldn’t tell which.  
“Well?” Carlos asked nervously, hoping it was the former.  
“Carlos. Dear Carlos. This is amazing.” Cecil mumbled through a mouthful. Carlos blushed again, but didn’t bother to hide it.  
“I’m glad you like it.” Carlos smiled earnestly.  
“Where’d you get this recipe?” Cecil asked after he had swallowed.  
“It’s my mother’s.” Carlos told him, breaking their eye contact to study his plate and take a bite of food. Cecil looked away too. Carlos knew Cecil felt terrible that Carlos had given up seeing his family ever again to save him and Janice. Cecil hadn’t told Carlos about his parents yet, and neither of them were sure if he ever would. Carlos didn’t mind either way.  
“When did she give it to you?” Cecil asked, hoping to call back a good memory.  
“She started teaching me to cook when I was thirteen. I memorized everything she ever made.”  
“That’s impressive.” Carlos shrugged off the compliment. “No, really. I’d love to try more of what you learned.”  
“Of course.” Carlos smiled. “If you’re always this much fun to feed, I’ll cook every night this week.” Cecil laughed. A beat passed of them simply munching on their vegetarian mexican delight.  
“My mother wasn’t a very good cook.” Cecil blurted, neither one of them sure why he said it.  
“Oh?” Carlos replied. Cecil nodded.  
“She brought a lot of Jerry’s Tacos home for us. She might have been an okay cook, but she never really tried.”  
“I thought Jerry’s Tacos closed down over fifty years ago.” Carlos puzzled. Cecil looked just as confused.  
“I… I guess I must be mistaken.” There was a pause.  
“Can your sister cook?” Carlos changed the subject.  
“Pretty well. Not as good as you, Carlos.” Carlos could see in Cecil’s expression that he was not joking around. “I’m serious, Carlos. This is the best thing I have ever tasted.”  
“I believe you.” Carlos laughed at Cecil’s intense expression. Cecil smiled and looked down at the table. He had finished his plate, and looked deep in thought. “What’s on your mind, Cecil?”  
“Hm? Oh, nothing really. Just… I’m really glad you’re here, Carlos.” Cecil didn’t look up.  
“Is something wrong?” Carlos asked, concerned. There was a pound at the door. Cecil jumped, startled. Sometimes Cecil would act like a kitten for no reason at all, jumping at loud noises and desperately needing someone to nuzzle up to. Carlos didn’t particularly mind it.  
“I’ll get it.” Cecil got up and went to the door. Carlos stood up and walked where he could see Cecil.  
“Erika? What’s going on?” Cecil asked their visitor. They handed Cecil a note and said something Carlos could not hear. Cecil read it, gasped, and clamped his hand over his mouth in shock. Carlos sped up to him.  
“Cecil? What is it?” Erika was gone. Cecil didn’t say anything, just looked at Carlos with a horrified glance. Carlos swung the door closed and took the note from Cecil’s hand. It read:  
“Doctor Científico,  
We know where you are. We know who you’re with. We have your sister and mother, and if you do not bring us back Subject NV01, they will be killed. You have three days.  
Sincerely and Professionally,”  
There was no signature, but Carlos didn’t need one. It was clear. He thought Night Vale would keep him safe from these people. He wondered, angrily, how they had found his family, and then how they had delivered this note. He crumbled it up in his hand. Cecil placed a hand on his shoulder.  
“Dammit!” Carlos yelled as loudly as he could. He was shaking with rage. Without even thinking about it, he spun around and punched his fist straight through the wall towards the hall. He yelled again. His rage turned to grief as he realized what was going to happen. He leaned his back against the wall. He felt his resolve melting, and his rage-filled trembling turned to shaking shoulders as he began to sob. He slid down and sat on the floor, tears pouring from his eyes as he thought about his poor sister and mother, terrified and threatened, all because of him. Cecil sat on his knees next to Carlos and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Carlos, without thinking about it, turned and pressed his face into Cecil’s shoulder. Cecil wrapped his other arm around Carlos’s front, and Carlos drained himself of all energy and feeling while Cecil held him. When he had settled down some, and was now more numb than anything, Cecil spoke.  
“I’m turning myself in.” Carlos looked up at this, and Cecil detached his arms semi-reluctantly.  
“No, Cecil, you can’t. I’ll- I’ll find a way around this, they could be bluffing, I-” Carlos protested.  
“You know they’re not. Carlos, it’s the only way. I’m not going to let you lose your f-family.” Cecil’s voice broke a little at the end, but he stayed firm. The subtext was there. ‘I’m not letting you lose your family, not after everything you did for mine.’ The two men sat on the floor, emotion boiling between them, until Carlos stood up.  
“Cecil, I’m not letting you give yourself back to them. Not after everything they did to you. We’re going to go back, get my family back, and save everyone.” Carlos said it with full conviction, though in the back of his mind he knew how unrealistic it was.  
“My dear, sweet Carlos.” Cecil furrowed his brow. “I can handle it. Maybe someone can help me like you did, and I’ll see you again.” His eyes were misting.  
“No. I’m not letting you do that.” Carlos had cried enough. Now, he was back to being angry. He was determined. Carlos was going to stop them from hurting anyone he cared about. His tone expressed all of that to Cecil without Carlos even needed to say it all.  
Cecil stood up, looked into Carlos’s brown sugar eyes for a long, unwavering moment, and then hugged him. A proper hug, like the day Carlos had come to ask to move in. In Carlos’s opinion, they didn’t hug like that often enough. Cecil held Carlos tightly, one hand grasping the back of his neck with the other wrapped around and squeezing his back. Carlos, unlike the last time, truly hugged him back. He wrapped his arms around Cecil’s waist and pulled him closer. Carlos was filled with determination to save him. He wasn’t going to let Strexcorp, or anyone, hurt Cecil ever again.  
“What’s your plan?” Cecil concurred quietly once they finally broke apart, ready for whatever Carlos was going to throw at him.  
“Give me an hour.” Carlos furrowed his brow. He went into his room and closed the door. He sat at the desk and wrote furiously in a notebook. He drew the layout of the Strexcorp office building as well as he could remember, which was pretty well. Carlos’s memory wasn’t photographic, but it was strengthened by emotional connections, and he had a strong emotional connection tied to the memory of that horrid place. He cursed himself for not scoping out the other floors, but he knew pretty well how Strexcorp liked to work. They wanted to get the most pain possible out of their enemies, and Carlos could use that to his advantage. He knew with almost complete certainty that his family was going to be on the top floor, likely in the same room they held Cecil in. He began formulating his plan.  
An hour later, Cecil knocked on Carlos’s door.  
“Carlos? Are you alright?” He called respectfully.  
“Yeah, Cecil. I’m excellent.” Carlos smiled as he closed the notebook. His plan was complete. Cecil walked in, holding a glass of water for Carlos. Carlos drank the entire thing at once, parched from heavy thinking.  
“You have a plan?” He asked. Carlos nodded and chewed on the end of his pen.  
“We’re going to need a couple of things, but first, how strong are your tentacles?”  
“With all of them together I can lift a pretty big car. I don’t know the exact amount for them individually.” Cecil answered.  
“Do they have suction on them? Can you climb a building with limited texture?” Cecil gave him a peculiar look.  
“Definitely. What’s your plan, Carlos?”  
“You’re going to carry me to the roof of the building. We’ll have to dodge the windows in case there are people on the in between floors, but that won’t be too hard. The roof doesn’t have an entrance, but we won’t need one. I had been working on this long before I came to Strex.” Carlos said, pointing to a small device that looked like a large laser pointer. “It was supposed to be a tool for detecting unknown substances, but the technology malfunctioned, and created something much more deadly. When activated, the laser extends and can penetrate materials stronger than diamond. I happened to have it in my suitcase the day we went to my apartment. It was just a prototype I had mostly abandoned. We’re going to get to the top of the building, and cut a hole in the ceiling. Then, we drop down, grab my family, and get out of there.”  
“Carlos, the suction on my tentacles isn’t strong enough to climb down the wall and hold all three of you. It can’t hold more than myself and about three hundred pounds.”  
“Are you calling me fat?” Carlos asked jokingly.  
“No, perfect Carlos, of course not. But you’re… I don’t want to offend you by guessing incorrectly.” Cecil blushed.  
“I’m like, 155.” Carlos told him, eyebrows raised.  
“Okay, so, unless your sister and mother are both drastically underweight, I can’t hold all three of you.” Cecil frowned.  
“That’s…” Carlos pinched his nose bridge. He opened up the notebook, read over the plan, and adjusted some things. “Alright, you’ll take mi madre and hermana down the way we came up, and I’ll take the emergency stairs out. No one ever uses the emergency stairs, and they’re in drastic disrepair. I won’t even be noticed.”  
“How will you get out of the building once you’re downstairs?” Cecil crossed his arms skeptically.  
“I…” Carlos tapped the pen to his temple in thought. “I’ll figure something out, I’m sure.”  
“Carlos, it’s too risky.” Cecil argued.  
“Do you have a better plan?” Carlos exasperated. He knew how dangerous it was, but it was the only way.  
“No, but-”  
“Cecil, it’s the only way you and my family can be safe.” He swallowed the growing lump in his throat. “You understand that, don’t you?”  
“Yes.” Cecil nodded. “I do.”  
“Good. You would do the same for your family.”  
“I’m trying to.” He mumbled. Carlos wasn’t sure he had heard Cecil correctly, but he wasn’t going to ask him to repeat it and risk being shot down. There was a slightly uncomfortable silence. “When are we leaving?” Cecil distracted.  
“Now.”  
Cecil insisted on telling Janice and his sister goodbye in person. When they got to the door, dressed in stealth clothing, Janice immediately asked what was wrong. She was back in her wheelchair with a blanket draped over her tail.  
“Nothing, Janice.” Cecil answered at the same time that Carlos answered, “we’re going to save my family.” They looked at each other.  
“Let me come.” Janice demanded. “I’m smart, I can help.” Cecil gave Carlos a look as to say, “do you see why I didn’t say anything?”  
“Janice, my plan does not factor you in it. This is for Cecil and me to do. We stopped by to let you know we were going.”  
“Well, thanks for telling me. See you when you get back.” She snarked.  
“Janice-” Cecil started to say, but Janice had already spun around and slammed the door. He sighed.  
“I’m sorry, Cecil. I didn’t think she’d want to come with us.”  
“I know. I’m sorry too. I never lie to her, that’s the real reason she slammed the door. I always tell her exactly what’s going on.” Cecil pushed his hair back from his forehead. “Let’s go.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah. There’s no car in the driveway. My sister isn’t even home. I’ll just call her on the way.” They started to walk back.  
“Uncle Cecil, wait.” Janice said from the porch. They turned back around. “Good luck.” Cecil smiled and thanked her. She slammed the door again.  
“Teenagers.” Cecil looked at Carlos with a grin. Carlos chuckled. In Carlos’s car, Cecil called his sister and told her what was going on. She was silent for a long moment. Carlos thought she was just talking for a long time, until Cecil said, “are you there?” and she said she was. She told him to be careful, and they said their goodbyes.  
“Carlos,” Cecil said when he hung up, looking into Carlos’s eyes. Carlos turned to glance at him before looking back at the road.  
“Yeah?”  
“You never told me your sister and mother’s names.” He said. Carlos made a face.  
“I didn’t?”  
“No.” Carlos made a “hm” sound.  
“Mi hermana es Reyes. Mi madre es Febe.” Carlos told him with a goofy smile on his face.  
“Beautiful names.” Cecil complimented. “Did you mean to speak completely in Spanish just now?”  
“No, actually,” Carlos laughed. “Reyes is my sister, and Febe is my mother. Of course, I don’t call her that. My mother is a scientist, too.” Cecil nodded.  
“My mother’s name was Alma. The name means ‘caring’. I’ve always found that ironic.” Cecil spilled without thinking about it.  
“Do name meanings matter to you a lot?” Carlos asked.  
“Absolutely.” Cecil answered, clearly glad that was the part Carlos chose to focus on.  
“What does your name mean?”  
“Blinded. My first and last name together make a name that roughly means someone who explores new places blindly. Do you know about your name?”  
“My mother told me it means ‘free man’.” Carlos replied with a chuckle.  
“That’s lovely, Carlos.” Cecil smiled. “It’s probably making you curious about my mother, the way I keep bringing her up in passing.”  
“Slightly.” Carlos admitted.  
“She wasn’t cut out for motherhood, dear Carlos. You’re lucky to have a mother that loves you. Mine didn’t ever want kids, then she had my sister, and it was fine. After me, though, she stopped enjoying having children. She was never around. The day my sister turned eighteen, I never saw my mother again. She dumped me on my sister. I was only thirteen.” Cecil sighed.  
“It was a long time after when Janice came along. I already told you all about the asshole that participated in her creation. Janice had to grow up fast, which was fine by her. She’s never really wanted to be a kid.” Cecil drifted off as they drove.  
They talked about more light-hearted things, but mostly about what was going to happen once they got there. Cecil was still very anxious about Carlos having to go out the building a much more complicated way, but Carlos eventually convinced him it was the only way.  
“Carlos, I know you’re right. You… you usually are, it’s just… I don’t like it. I just wish… I wish we could stick together.” Cecil scratched his head.  
“I… me too, Cecil.” Carlos looked at Cecil with a sincere half-smile. “But I’m not the priority. You, Reyes, and my mother are the priority.” Cecil looked like he was about to say something else, but he didn’t. Carlos almost asked him what was on his mind. Carlos didn’t really know why he chose not to. Before they knew it, and in a way quicker time frame than should have been possible, they were a block from the building. Carlos parked on the street.  
“We need to walk from here so they don’t recognize my car.” Carlos unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to Cecil.  
“What do you want me to do once I get your family?” Cecil asked somberly. He was clearly worried for Carlos.  
“Drive them straight back to Night Vale.”  
“What? No, we-” Cecil tried.  
“Cecil.” Carlos interrupted forcefully. “I mean it. Don’t wait for me.” Cecil looked so concerned for Carlos, which made Carlos feel… content. It didn’t change how nervous he was for the rest of it.  
“Fine. How are you going to get back?” Cecil asked.  
“I’ll get a cab.” Carlos told him. Cecil was picking at his fingernails. Without thinking, Carlos put his hand over Cecil’s. “You don’t have to be worried.” He insisted. Cecil flipped his hand over and squeezed Carlos’s.  
“Let’s go get ‘em.” Cecil stated determinedly.


	2. Family Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan goes... how it goes.

When they approached the tall, dark building, Cecil started shaking with nerves. Carlos managed to keep his nervousness inside. Though, with Cecil on his team, he wasn’t scared. It was Strexcorp that needed to be scared.  
“Cecil, are you okay?” Carlos asked. Cecil nodded. They walked up to the side of the building, avoiding being in front of any windows. Cecil extended all of his tentacles, and scooped Carlos up with the middle ones. Carlos gasped at being picked up so suddenly.  
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Cecil asked.  
“No, just surprised me.” Carlos forced a nervous laugh to ease the tension. One of Cecil’s tentacles was wrapped around Carlos’s chest, and the other was holding his upper thighs for support. Carlos felt strange being held like this, but he had no doubt that he was safe being held by Cecil. Cecil used the other tentacles to stick to and climb up the wall in between the spaced-out windows. He was also climbing with his hands and feet, but that was more for balance than anything. It took less than fifteen minutes for them to get to the roof. There really was nothing up there.   
“Where are we dropping down?” Cecil asked, setting Carlos on his feet.  
“Right…” Carlos walked around and did some mental calculations. “Here.” He finally pointed, taking the laser out of his pocket. “Cecil, can you suction to the part I’m cutting out so it doesn’t fall and get anyone’s attention?” He asked. Cecil nodded. Carlos activated the laser and cut out a two feet by two feet square. Cecil lifted it up and to the side with ease. Carlos ducked his head down to scope out the room.  
The hole was supposed to be right next to where the tank was, but the tank was gone. Febe and Reyes were in the spot where the tank once was, strapped to metal frankenstein-esque tables that were positioned semi-upright at an angle. Their eyes were closed. Four guards stood around but away from them. None of them noticed the large hole Carlos was looking through. Great guards, he thought sarcastically. He motioned to Cecil to be absolutely silent. Carlos was about to jump down, but Cecil stopped him. Before Carlos could react, Cecil leaped down. Carlos watched him grab every guard at once, first two then the other two with one tentacle each. He was standing on the other two to appear more threatening. Cecil tightly wrapped the tentacles around the guards necks and lifted slightly. Their bodies slumped to the ground, and Cecil set them all down in a corner propped up against the wall. He then moved back over to Carlos and used a tentacle to lower him down. The commotion had woken up Reyes and Febe, who were panicking at the sight of Cecil. Their eyes widened and they tried to speak ecstatically through their gags when they saw Carlos. Carlos held a finger to his mouth and undid their gags.   
“Carlos? What's going on?” Reyes exclaimed, looking at Cecil.  
“This is Cecil,” Carlos introduced. “He’s my…” Carlos decided to rephrase that. “You don’t have to be afraid of him. He’s on our side. I broke him out of here. That’s why you two got kidnapped.” He then turned to his mother.  
“Lo siento, Mamá. No debería haber dejado como yo lo hice. Estuve envuelto en algunas cosas realmente malas. Estas personas he trabajado para torturados Cecil, mi amigo, porque de su... las extremidades. Le prometo, él es una gran persona. Él es verdaderamente... increíble. Siento que me ponga tú y Reyes en peligro. Puedes perdonarme?” Carlos nearly started crying as he unstrapped his mother from the table. As soon as she was free, she hugged him in the way only a mother can hug.   
“Oh, mi dulce bebé. Por supuesto te perdono! ¿Tú crees que después de todo mis años de ser un científico que nunca he hecho algo fuera de la ley? Oh, mi querido niño, te amo pase lo que pase!” His mother comforted. She looked around. “¿Ahora... cuando es un buen momento para hablar de este muchacho? Es claro para mí que usted piensa muy bien de él. Una madre siempre sabe estas cosas, tú sabes. Voy a tener que hacer a este muchacho algunas tortillas de frijol negro y hablar con él acerca de sus intenciones con mi hijo.” Carlos looked at Cecil, who was very confused.  
“Mamá! Es este el momento de hablar tonterías aplasta? De todas formas, hice Cecil tortillas de habas negras y dijo que era la mejor cosa que nunca se comió.” Carlos scolded his mother. Cecil clearly was even more confused, having heard his name.  
“Tienes razón, no es el momento. Se trata de una mala situación, Carlos. ¿Cuál es tu plan?”  
“Mama, can you please speak in English? Creo que Cecil se siente izquierdo hacia fuera.”  
“Fine, English it is. What’s your plan, Carlos?” Febe said in perfect English. Cecil looked shocked. She walked over to him and held her hand out. He shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Cecil.”  
“Nice to meet you too…” Cecil drifted awkwardly.   
“Just call me Febe.” She smiled warmly. Carlos’s heart tingled at the meeting.   
“Mama, Reyes, you’re leaving with Cecil.” Carlos took a deep breath, preparing for the backlash.   
“What? Bebé, why are you not coming with us?” His mother exclaimed. Carlos shushed her, and she scowled at him.  
“People could be coming up here any second, or the guards could wake up. You three are leaving, and that’s the end of it. I’ll catch up with you.” Carlos stated firmly. Cecil looked at Febe and Reyes.  
“I, uh, I have to carry you down the side of the building with my, uh, tentacles.” He explained sheepishly.   
“Ay Dios mio,” Carlos’s mother muttered, motioning to Cecil to go ahead. Cecil wrapped two tentacles around Febe and one around Reyes, who was a skinny little child. Febe appeared unaffected, while Reyes was somewhere between shock and bewilderment. That left Cecil with three to climb with.   
They heard a noise coming from the elevator, and Carlos made quick eye contact with his mother, who nodded, and then with Cecil, who furrowed his brow with fear, no, concern, and propelled himself out of the building. Carlos bolted to the stairway and made sure the door was silent as it closed. He said a silent prayer that the three of them would be okay as he swiftly made his way down.  
He made it down the several flights of stairs almost completely without incident. As he passed the sign that read, “Floor 2”, a piercing alarm began blaring. Clearly, the escape had been noticed. He knew they would assume the four of them had left together, which gave Carlos the advantage. He kept himself motivated with the thought that Cecil, his mother, and Reyes were driving on their way to Night Vale, probably talking about him. He hoped his mother would not embarrass him. He smiled thinking of how Reyes and his mother were likely talking about Cecil right in front of him, like Carlos and his mother had just done, but he had no idea. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, and was about to start the flight down to the main floor, he heard heavy thumping steps coming up from the door. He ducked behind the stairs as a group of people flooded in.  
“Of all the times for the goddamn elevator to give out.” One man huffed. Carlos cursed in his mind. The elevator being out meant that he would have to get away from the stairs as quickly as he could. If anyone needed anything out of the supply closet next to where he was, he’d be fucked. Heavy-footed guards were still pounding up the stairs, so there was nowhere for him to go. He just squatted, ready to jump up if the opportunity presented itself. Just as he heard footsteps silencing at was preparing to leap, he heard voices that got his attention.  
“Sir, you are not supposed to be in the stairwell at this time.” A guard stated.  
“I know, but I cannot continue my experiment unless I get a new pair of safety goggles from the closet.” Carlos had to bite his lip to keep from gasping. It was John, and he was coming to get something out of the supply closet.  
“Sir, I have orders.” The guard persisted.   
“Look, I know. Whatever all of you guys are scared of is clearly already gone or taken care of. Why don’t you just go take a bathroom break and let me do what I need to do already?” John insisted. “It’s time sensitive.”  
“Fine, but if this goes south, I’m taking you down with me.”   
“Be my guest.” John walked to the closet. The guard walked away. As soon as John got two pairs of goggles out of the closet and closed the door, he saw Carlos ducked under the stairs.  
“Científico? What the hell are you doing here?” He whispered incredulously.  
“They took my family.” Carlos whispered back.  
“Oh my god, Carlos… where are they?”  
“Cecil has them.”  
“Cecil?”  
“That’s, uh, Subject NV01’s real name.” Carlos explained. John looked around nervously.  
“Why are you still here? Steve told everyone you died!” John whispered in a panic.  
“He couldn’t hold all of us.” Carlos explained desperately.  
“Carlos, I don’t know what the hell happened to you and that creature, but I’m supposed to think you’re dead, and that NV01 was relocated. You’ve gotta get the fuck out, and now.” John turned.  
“Don’t you think I know that?” Carlos held back his fear. “Get out of here. The guard’ll still be gone. I’ll be fine. Thanks for this, John.” Carlos looked at John. John nodded at him and walked out. Carlos waited twenty seconds, then walked out carefully. He hoped no one that would recognize him would be around. Stealthing through, he realized… they would never stop coming after him and the people he loved unless he gave them a reason to. Right there, in the midst of terror, Carlos formulated a new plan.   
He turned right instead of left, which led outside and away from all this, and walked down the hall to the data records. Strexcorp kept everything on paper files, so they couldn’t be hacked. This made Carlos’s job easier. Picking locks was much less challenging than hacking a database. Carlos found the room labeled “Records” and, of course, found that the door was locked, and needed a keycard.   
He turned around, and thought about where he could go to find a keycard. He wasn’t going to go find John, because John wasn’t going to turn him in, but he also wasn’t going to endanger himself any more than he already had. Carlos couldn’t find Steve, because he had no idea where he was. He had to find someone who left theirs around or fell asleep on the job. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He remembered the guards that Cecil knocked out, then remembered that there was probably still a swarm of guards up there. He could threaten someone for one, but then he’d have to leave really quickly after that before they could send someone after him. Carlos ran over a couple more options, and realized that was his best bet. He’d have to find a lone scientist and threaten them for their keycard.   
Carlos stalked down the hall, looking for a lab with a single scientist in it. He looked in the window of one, and saw a lone guy that didn’t look too bulky. He pulled the laser out of his pocket and held it. He opened the door without being seen and grabbed the guy in a headlock.   
“Give me your keycard or I swear I’ll laser your head clean off.” He grunted into the guy’s ear. The guy didn’t struggle.  
“C-Carlos?” It was then that Carlos’s stomach dropped into an abyss. He was holding Steve, who had dyed his hair and lost a couple pounds since Carlos was last here. Carlos cursed in his head.  
“I’m not going to ask again.” Carlos growled.  
“What happened to you, Carlos?” Steve whispered as he handed Carlos his key card. Carlos realized he was talking about the threats and the violence, when that had never been Carlos’s style.   
“I’m sorry, Steve.” He turned to run.  
“Carlos, wait!” Steve quietly barked. Carlos paused but didn’t turn around. He cursed himself again for not just running. “They’ve told us we’re supposed to die rather than give up our keys. They’re going to kill me. I’m already on thin ice with these psychopaths after they didn’t totally believe my story when you left the first time.” Steve begged. Carlos felt overwhelmed with something, something that made him give Steve directions to the motel that he had stayed at with Cecil and Janice.  
“Get out of here. I’ll find you. By the time I leave here, they’ll never be able to hurt any of us ever again.”   
“You’re going to take them down.” Steve said, impressed. It wasn’t a question. They both ran the directions they needed to go.   
Carlos unlocked the door to the archives. None of the individual cases were locked, and Carlos went through what he could. He found the files under “N” and searched. There were at least twenty manilla folders on Night Vale, and Carlos took them all. He also found one cabinet in the back labeled “off limits”. He lasered the lock right off and opened it up. There were files upon files of highly illegal projects and the like that Carlos didn’t want to think about, and he took as much as he could carry. He slipped out of the archives room and started as casually and quickly as he could towards the door. He was so close to the door when he heard someone yells, “stop him!”. He tried to run, to bolt for the door, but a sharp pain knocked him in the leg. He slowed, but persisted. It was another two sharp pains in the same leg before he collapsed to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look, I know there's a lot of spanish here, but i am way too tired to translate it, so... I'm sorry about that. It's just sweet stuff between carlos and his mom, so if you want more than that, that's for you to find out. Love my readers!


	3. All Monsters Are Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos and a familiar ally face a familiar enemy's wrath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this one should probably have an archive warning for graphic depictions of violence, but I don't want it to affect the story, so go to the end notes for the bullet points if you don't want to be scarred for life. love you!  
> also, mierda means "fuck" in spanish.

“Mierda!” Carlos yelled. He looked down and saw blood pooling around his left leg where he had felt the sharp pains. The files and documents were everywhere. His vision was blurring. Over him, out of absolutely nowhere, was Lauren. He swore again.  
“Oh, Carlos. We knew you’d come back for your sweet little family. I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to stay longer than you needed to, but I am so glad you did!” She cheered. She kneeled down by him and pressed down on his injured leg. “Aw, does that hurt? I’m impressed that it took three bullets to knock you down. You’re tougher than you look, Doctor.” She got closer to his head and pulled a syringe out of her lab coat pocket. Carlos was feeling woozy, but he took the little strength he had and swung his fist across the side of her face, knuckle hitting her eye dead on. She staggered back, but Carlos couldn’t make himself get up. He wouldn’t get far regardless, not with three bullets in his leg.  
Lauren wiped the tear slipping out of her eye and leaned forward again.  
“Nice hit, Doctor. I can’t wait to see the exact moment you regret that.” She smiled so wide her cheeks disappeared under the corners of her mouth. “You know, this stuff never worked on your fishy friend, but I have a feeling it’ll do just fine on you.” She grinned the whole time as she plunged the syringe right into his neck.   
Carlos woke up strapped to a table that was upright at an angle, the same way his family had been strapped up earlier. He immediately gained appreciation for waking up in a hospital. He looked around the room. It wasn’t the top floor of the building. It was dark except for the lights of security monitors. The monitors showed Carlos running down the stairs, John talking to seemingly no one, Carlos threatening Steve right before they talked, and Carlos breaking into the cabinets and taking the files. They knew he was in there the whole time. It had all just been a show, a… a sick mind game. Having the screens on and showing Carlos was a psychological weapon, and knowing this weakened its effect on Carlos. The physical effect of the bullets still present in his leg was still very effective. He groaned in pain, and wished he could adjust his position. The way the table was angled, his legs had to support most of his weight, which was clearly intentional to heighten the pain of his leg.  
“Good to see you again, Dr. Científico.” Kevin emerged, all smiles, from the darkness, holding a small lamp which he set on the floor. “You know, I almost didn’t believe it when they told me you were here! They don’t tell me much, you see. Of course, I knew you were alive, and that you had taken the Subjects with you. I didn’t know that they found your family and were holding them hostage in return for the Subject. Why didn’t you just bring it back? The Subject is a monster, you know.”  
“He’s a person.” Carlos grunted.  
“Is that what he told you? When he got his speech back? Hm. Did he also tell you how many people he killed? How many scientists just like yourself?” Kevin paced back and forth.  
“Because they tortured him.” Kevin cackled.  
“Tortured? No, poor, misguided Carlos. They were very clearly instructed to only use the electric remotes for self defense. That thing you stole is a wild creature, and could turn on you at any time. It probably already has. Your family was safer with us.”   
“That’s bullshit. You knew Cecil was a person when you found him. He had a job, a family, a life, and you wanted to put him under a microscope for your own use.” It hurt Carlos to say that much at once, and so passionately, when his body was so weakened.   
“Now, Carlos. Don’t strain yourself.” Kevin lurched forward and grabbed Carlos by the collar. He was so close all Carlos could see was his face. He wasn’t smiling, which was so much more unsettling in that moment compared to his smiling face. It was the shock value of not seeing him grin. His green eyes looked like the eyes of a doll, glazed and plastic. Carlos could smell his breath, and it smelled like hot blood. “Where is the Subject?” He whispered, the blood breath punching Carlos’s nose and making him feel the need to retch.  
“Where do you think?” He muttered. Kevin slapped Carlos hard across the face.   
“The next time I ask, it might not be as nice.” Kevin warned.   
Carlos spit on his face, and Kevin yelled in disgust. Carlos was mad about everything they did to Cecil, how heartless they were. He was sos filled with rage, that he was confident nothing this monster could do would ever break him.  
“Good one, Doc. My turn.” Kevin made a disgusting noise in the back of his throat, and hacked a lump of saliva on the side of Carlos’s face, under his eye. It was hotter than it should have been, almost burning, like when you get in a shower with the water too hot, and made Carlos involuntarily squirm as it dripped down his cheek and down to his neck.   
“You know they’re going to Night Vale.” Carlos spat, trying to fling the spit off his face.  
“Yes. That’s true. What I’m asking is…” He lifted Carlos’s shirt and wiped the spit off Carlos’s cheek. “Where. Is. Night Vale?” Carlos furrowed his brow with confusion.  
“What? Strex has been there before, right? Why don’t you just fucking type it into Google Maps?” Carlos spat.  
“You really don’t get it, do you? Night Vale isn’t in the same place as it was. The same people went the same way they did the first time, and they found nothing. Just the same shitty billboards and the same shitty motel.” When Kevin mentioned the motel, everything clicked. What Cecil said so shortly, yet an eternity ago…  
“Night Vale appears to those who deserve it.” Carlos smirked.   
“Oh, you think this is funny? I don’t get the joke.” Kevin walked behind the table and came back around to Carlos’s left side, now holding a oddly jagged blade with a clean steel handle. “I think you need to explain it to me.” Kevin pressed his finger to the tip of the blade. A red bubble appeared on the pad of his pointer finger.  
“I only got to Night Vale because Cecil was with me. He told me where to go. I don’t know how you guys got there the first time, but you’re never going to be able to go back.” Carlos finished. Kevin spasmed and kicked Carlos hard in the damaged leg, causing him to cry out.   
“That leg is certainly broken.” Kevin remarked, ignoring Carlos’s speech. “You know, if we can’t have NV01 or NV02, and we can’t go back to find a new one, then we’ll just have to make do with what we have.”   
“You have more innocent people hostage?” Carlos remarked angrily, but cold, dry anger, like the anger of someone so enraged that the only emotion they have is anger.  
“No, no. If by innocent you mean monstrous half-breeds, then no, we don’t have any more of those. I think we’ll have to start a new study. How about we study…” Kevin dragged the edge of the knife very delicately down Carlos’s cheek. It nicked the sensitive skin under his eye and blood dribbled down like a tear. “We’ll study… how a common traitor reacts to his fellow traitor being punished.” Carlos didn’t understand what he was talking about at first. Then, an overhead light popped on in the dark room, revealing John strapped to an identical table. Carlos gasped. John wasn’t awake. Kevin rolled the table to where it was about four feet away from Carlos, and the little lamp was between them. Kevin then struck John violently across the face, and he bolted awake. He obviously had no idea where he was.  
“I’m so sorry, John.” Carlos blurted. Kevin whipped around at the outburst and slashed Carlos’s arm with the knife, tearing the sleeve of his shirt and a few more layers of skin than Carlos was prepared for. He bit his tongue to keep from making a sound. He wouldn’t give Kevin the satisfaction. This only made Kevin irritated.   
“Oh, do you think you’re too tough to scream?” Kevin got up uncomfortably close to Carlos. He used the knife to cut Carlos’s shirt down the middle of his chest. He did not do it carefully, and a tiny pink stripe remained on Carlos’s breastbone. “I can make you scream.” Kevin whispered into Carlos’s left ear, pressed his knee crudely against Carlos’s broken leg.  
“What the hell do you want?” John yelled at him. Carlos winced in anticipation of what Kevin would do for that outburst, but Kevin didn’t even turn around. He just stared into Carlos’s eyes. It was like he was undressing him with his eyes, except instead of taking off his clothes with his mind, he was taking off Carlos’s skin. Carlos held back a shudder.  
“Right now I just want to make Carlos tell me how much it hurts.” Carlos didn’t want to ask how much what hurts, but it was clear by Kevin’s expression that it was exactly what Kevin wanted to hear.  
“How much what hurts?” Carlos muttered.   
“So glad you asked.” Kevin smiled. He cut slowly and deeply into Carlos’s chest above his right nipple and sliced down over all of Carlos’s ribs down to the top of his stomach, clearly experienced on how not to cut to kill. Carlos couldn’t hold back the forceful groan of pain. “That’s what I like to hear.” Kevin laughed sadistically. Kevin cut two more lines into Carlos’s chest. Carlos knew without looking that they formed a capital “K”. Kevin backed away, and John gasped. Carlos could feel enough blood dripping down his chest to unsettle him, but not make him pass out. The letter was indistinguishable with the sheet of blood pouring straight down Carlos’s body. He involuntarily whimpered at the thought of how much Kevin had to practice inflicting pain and wounds to be so skilled. “Oh, Carlos. There’s no need to be scared. I’m not scared of the sun rising in the morning, because I know it’s going to happen. You shouldn’t be scared of feeling pain because you know it’s going to happen.” He turned to John, but stood to the side so Carlos had a clear view of them both.   
“Leave him alone, Kevin.” Carlos whispered. It was the best he could do.  
“Why? Do you want some more?” He teased. He walked over to Carlos and stroked Carlos’s chest with the handle of the knife.   
“Just… let us go.”   
“Hm,” Kevin pretended to consider it. “No thank you. Maybe though, I will after I’m done with you. Maybe I’ll carve a sweet message into your flesh and have you sent to your semi-aquatic boyfriend.” He cackled. Carlos felt his eyes misting. “Or,” Kevin looked like he had a truly awful idea, eyebrows raised and a creeping smile. “Or, I can cause you a lot of pain, and we see where it goes from there. Hm?” Carlos shook his head weakly. “Oh, but here’s the twist- if you make yourself pretty enough, if you scream enough- I’ll let Johnny here go with a couple of scratches. How’s that sound?” Carlos said nothing. “Fun!”   
Kevin kicked Carlos in the leg again, and Carlos yelled out. He then leaned forward and cut Carlos’s belt, then waistband. He cut Carlos’s pants all the way off, leaving Carlos in a tattered shirt and boxers.   
“Oh Carlos, how pretty you are.” The way he said pretty while rolling his eyes back in his head made Carlos’s toes curl.   
Kevin came forward again and did unspeakable, violent things to Carlos’s sides, legs, and arms, including digging the bullets out of Carlos’s leg with the tip of the knife. Carlos yelled and cried out so loudly that he wondered how he and Kevin both weren’t going deaf. Kevin assured Carlos he wouldn’t bleed out, but Carlos wasn’t so sure. He felt like he was bleeding out. He almost wanted to. After several minutes and what felt like hours upon hours of torture, Kevin backed away from Carlos.   
“Are… you… done?” Carlos managed to articulate, but barely. He almost sounded worse than the first time Cecil spoke to him. Carlos remembered the scars on Janice. If Kevin was so willing to torture a little girl, what chance did Carlos stand?  
“One more thing, pretty.” Kevin held out one finger and walked over to John’s right side. He took the jagged blade and held it to John’s throat, and Carlos thought of course he wouldn’t keep his word.   
“Say that your precious Cecil is a monster.” He held that blade close to John’s neck. “And you better mean it.” Carlos knew he wasn’t playing around. Carlos was so worn out, so… defeated. Not even thinking of his family brought him comfort, because all he could think was them worrying over him. He thought of Cecil, who was probably very upset, and likely blaming himself for letting Carlos go in the first place. It occurred to Carlos that Cecil could have just set his family on the street and came back up to the roof to get Carlos, and he chuckled. With the tiny amount of strength that was left in him, he chuckled. All of this could have been avoided. John’s whine zapped Carlos back to the present.   
“He’s… he’s a m-monster.” Carlos mumbled with what he could muster.  
“Say his name.” Kevin’s eyebrows pointed into a “V”, and a sick smile dressed his face.   
“Cecil… is a monster.” Carlos spat out with every bit of energy he had left. Saying the sweet name of Cecil along with the horrible world of monster made Carlos’s stomach churn. He felt like he had betrayed Cecil. He didn’t feel worthy of going back to Cecil or his family. He felt like he deserved to be exactly where he was. Carlos had been wrong. Kevin had broken him.   
“You’re the monster.” John choked out, throat still trapped under the knife. Kevin opened his mouth in a wide “O”. Playfully offended. He was having so much fun.   
“Sorry, Carlos, I didn’t count on Johnny getting smart with me.” Kevin smiled through his false apology. Carlos was too exhausted to understand what he meant until Kevin jerked the knife down and sideways and deep red blood poured out of John’s throat. John’s eyelids hung open. His clothes were drenched, and his arms no longer strained against the straps. Carlos felt like screaming and sobbing, but he only felt a few thick tears slide down his cheeks, burning the cuts on his face. He didn’t care. All of his cares had drained out of him with most of his blood. He was barely hanging on to consciousness. He felt like he was barely hanging on to life. Whichever one was overtaking him, death or sleep, he welcomed it. He was done. He couldn’t fight it anymore.  
“F-fuck… you…” Carlos whispered before his vision darkened and he blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major plot points here are:  
> Kevin reveals that Strexcorp doesn't know how to find Night Vale anymore, because Night Vale only appears to those who deserve it.  
> Kevin tortures Carlos for fun, including carving a K into his chest with a knife and several facial nicks.  
> Kevin brings John into the hellstorm, teasing Carlos about killing John.  
> Kevin tells Carlos he looks pretty multiple times once he has forcefully undressed Carlos, though nothing sexual happens or is mentioned.  
> Kevin kicks Carlos in his broken leg several times before removing the bullets.  
> Kevin tells Carlos that if he screams enough while being tortured, then Kevin will let John live.  
> Kevin alters the deal and says that Carlos has to "admit" that Cecil is a monster, and mean it- or John dies.  
> Carlos realizes that Cecil could have set his family down on the street and come back up for a second trip to carry Carlos down, and laughs at the realization that all of this could have been avoided, showing his mini psychological breakdown that Kevin has triggered.  
> Carlos uses the last of his strength to appeal to Kevin's demand of betraying Cecil by calling him a monster, but to his dismay, Kevin slits John's throat anyway after John tells him Kevin is the monster.  
> Carlos feels like he deserves the torture for betraying Cecil.  
> Right before Carlos slips out of consciousness from blood loss and emotional trauma, he tells Kevin "fuck you".  
> Hopefully this was helpful!


	4. Reconnecting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos begins his recovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one has some cute moments to redeem the shitstorm that was the last chapter... i hope

“Carlos. Carlos. Carlos.” Someone was whispering and shaking him gently. Carlos was still strapped on to the table, but now the table was perpendicular to the ground. He felt pain everywhere. His chest and legs were the worst. His face stung when he winced from the pain everywhere else, which made him wince more, which made it hurt more. He opened his eyes and saw a tall figure dressed in a long dark coat. The figure also had very large wings protruding from its back that Carlos assumed he was imagining.   
“Cecil…” He moaned, thinking of how he betrayed him.  
“No, but I’m going to bring you back to him.” The figure stated, unstrapping Carlos from the table and helping him up. Carlos was too out of it to care. The figure wrapped his blue coat around Carlos’s mostly nude body, for which Carlos was grateful. Similar figures shuffled around the room and picked things up, but Carlos was too out of it to notice. The first figure gently led Carlos off the table, but Carlos instantly crashed to the ground and groaned pitifully.   
“They broke his leg. Shot it, actually. Three times.” The person told the other similar people. They helped Carlos up and held him steady.  
“Why did I say that about Cecil?” Carlos whispered as he began to cry, the trauma setting in. “Why didn’t Kevin kill me? He should have killed me.” Nobody else could completely understand him. It was jumbles of sounds that were vaguely interpreted as words. “Like John.” His voice emerged and cracked as more tears fell.   
“Shh, Carlos. It’s okay. Kevin’s gone now, and he’s going to be gone for the rest of his life.” The person assured Carlos.  
“Bring him back.” Carlos cried weakly. “He needs to finish me.”   
“It’s okay, Carlos. We’re going to take you to your sister, your mother, and Cecil. Cecil sent us.”   
“No.” He protested with a sob. “No. No Cecil. I can’t… no Cecil. I don’t deserve Cecil! I called him a monster!” Carlos started thrashing. “I don’t deserve him!” He threw himself on the cold floor and sobbed, shaking violently and scratching deep cuts into his hand with his nails, opening other cuts on his body with his thrashing. They all tried to calm Carlos down, but he wouldn’t listen. Eventually, his sobbing got quiet, and he just shook. They helped him up and said quiet things to each other, but he wasn’t listening. He finally calmed down, almost passing out again after tiring himself out, as they carried him out of the building.   
“Cecil…” He whimpered. They took him back to Night Vale and dressed his wounds in someone’s house. Carlos didn’t know whose house it was or why they didn’t just take him to a hospital, but the bed was comfortable and he felt like the burn of the antiseptic was more than earned. He passed in and out of consciousness, but eventually just fell asleep.   
“Carlos?” A familiar older woman’s voice called quietly. He felt weight on the side of the bed, like someone sitting next to him. “Carlos, honey, can you hear me? You need to eat.” She said. Carlos wearily dragged his eyelids open and looked at her. It was Old Woman Josie. Or Josie. Or whatever.   
“J-Josie.” He murmured absently, not completely convinced he was awake yet.   
“Yes, honey.” She was holding a bowl of some odd looking soup out to him. He took it and drank the entire thing from the bowl without using a spoon or even coming up for air. Waking up hungry when you ate not that long ago from when you fell asleep is never a good sign. Carlos’s scientific brain was recovering and deducing, processing everything that happened. “Are you feeling better?”   
“I… I don’t know. How did I feel before?” He asked.  
“Not great.” She smiled sympathetically.  
“How long did I sleep?” Carlos mumbled, still in a sleepy trance that some would find endearing.  
“Carlos, your mind had a lot of processing and understanding to do.” He could tell when someone was trying to cushion the truth, and Josie was doing it.   
“Please. How long.” He pleaded, expecting around twenty-four hours.  
“A week.” She confessed. The lost time should have panicked him, but for some reason, he couldn’t force himself to care. He looked down at his leg and saw that it was nicely wrapped, and felt much better, though it ached and he had no desire to move it. He looked at his hand, and saw that wrapped too. He realized with a start that the hand injury was his fault. He realized with a bigger shock that the other injuries weren’t his fault.The events before his week long nap came flooding back in waves that almost sent him over the edge. He felt Josie wipe a tear off his cheek matronly before he even noticed it was there.   
“Has,” Carlos croaked out. “Has Cecil…?” He didn’t really know what to ask. He was thinking, “does Cecil hate me for what I said?” but Cecil didn’t even know Carlos had called him a monster. That made Carlos even more upset, that Cecil had probably been worried sick over him, when he should have been angry and distant.   
“He’s been coming by a lot. I wouldn’t let him come in here more than a few times. The Erikas told me how you reacted to his name when they found you, so we decided he shouldn’t be the first thing you saw when you woke up.” She explained kindly. “Though that hasn’t stopped him from coming by every two hours.”   
“Why is he so concerned? I haven’t even- I- we’ve only been working on a normal relationship- I mean, friendship- for a couple weeks.” Carlos sputtered.  
“Honey, sometimes that’s all it takes.” The doorbell rang. Her words rang in Carlos’s ears, but louder than that, his own words from the last week rang more fiercely. ‘Cecil is a monster’ he had said. He said that, and it couldn’t even save John.  
“If that’s Cecil…” Carlos murmured, slightly lifting a hand at nothing.  
“Do you want me to send him in?” Josie asked.  
“I… I don’t know.” He adjusted his position in the bed.   
“Then I won’t. I want you to be ready for that.” Josie went to get the door, but it wasn’t Cecil. It was Carlos’s mother. She came into the bedroom and hugged Carlos. She spoke in rapid spanish about everything- how worried she was, how happy she was that he was alive and well, how much everyone had missed their favorite scientist. Carlos told her she was his favorite scientist and she grinned. Grinning made Carlos wince. He couldn’t remember why until he scratched his chest and found fading, scabbed scratches that may become scars in the shape of a letter. He didn’t want to look in the mirror every day and be reminded of everything that happened that day… Kevin’s grin and plastic eyes were burned into his mind. Talking to his mother was a helpful thing. She didn’t ask about anything that happened, of course. After about a half hour, she told him she was going to go, but Reyes was coming in to see him.  
Reyes came in and sat cross legged on the bed by his good leg. Someone had put a simple t-shirt on him, but left him in his boxers. He didn’t care. He reached out his right hand, the one he always scratched, and Reyes took it. She held his hand, and kissed his middle knuckled with a smile. Her smile was so earnest, so kind, and her eyes were so real, that Carlos didn’t even think about Kevin while she was there.  
“Carlos, you know at some point you’re going to have to talk about it, right?” She looked at him. Where Carlos expected to see pity, he saw love. Love that he didn’t deserve, from anyone.   
“Yeah.” He said. “But you’re twelve, Reyes.”   
“Thirteen, actually.” She corrected. “My birthday is today. I don’t blame you for not knowing that, what with having no concept of time.”   
“Happy birthday, girlie.” He congratulated. “Girlie” had always been his nickname for her.  
“Thanks. You know, I’ve heard an Erika or two talking. I know about your injuries. I can figure out how you got them. I saw similar ones on Janice, but they were older. You can talk to me. I won’t weigh you down with stupid adult nonsense.” She persuaded.   
“Did you see the ‘K’?” He asked. She shook her head. Carlos lifted his t-shirt to show her. “It’s healing, so hopefully it won’t leave a scar. I’d love to be able to look in the mirror without a shirt and not be brought back to that moment. He did it just to scar me. I’m not talking about my skin. He wanted to leave an emotional mark. He wanted me to scream, too. He practically got off on my screams.” Carlos spilled. He figured he was probably telling her too much, but he didn’t care, and he knew she could handle it. She was right about him needing to talk about it. “He put his face right up to mine the whole time. His breath smelled like blood, and his spit was hot.”  
“He spit on you?” Reyes looked disgusted.  
“After I spit on him first.” She smiled proudly at her rebellious brother. “I cussed at him, too. Last thing I did before I passed out was cuss at him. I still don’t know why he left me alone after I passed out.” Carlos paused. “Telling him off is what got John killed. All John ever did was help me, and all he got was killed. He never betrayed me, and he got killed. It’s all my fault.” Carlos felt like crying on the inside, but he stayed numb outside. “I betrayed Cecil.”   
“How?” She asked.   
“I told Kevin that Cecil is a monster. He was going to kill John if I didn’t but… he did anyway.” Carlos thought that he yelled that part, but his body fought him, and it came out as a whisper. “Maybe if I had kept Kevin from killing John by saying it I’d be able to live with it, but I betrayed him, Reyes. I betrayed him for nothing.” Carlos drifted off, voice losing its volume.  
“Hey, Carlos. You were being forced. You wouldn’t have been able to live with yourself if you hadn’t said it and Kevin had killed John.”  
“I can’t live with myself now, either.”  
“Carlos, you need to know how Cecil has spent this week. He prerecorded all his radio shows the day you arrived unconscious and took off work indefinitely. He comes here every couple hours, sometimes more, but Josie only lets him come in about once or twice a day. I’ve seen him some of the times when she turns him away, he freaks out. He just wants to be here for you, and when he hears that he can’t- he’s a mess. He pulls on his hair, his voice cracks… I don’t know what kind of spell you put him under in the time you lived together, but he’s obsessed. When he starts freaking out, I come over to him and talk it out. He calms down when I talk to him. I asked him about it once, and he told me it’s because I remind him of two of his favorite people- you and his niece. You’re one of his favorite people, Carlos. I wasn’t supposed to tell you that, but you need to hear it. When I talk to him, he just talks about everything he loves about you. He fucking loves your hair. Like, damn.”   
Somewhere along Carlos started to cry. They weren’t violent tears, and he wasn’t on the verge of sobbing, he was just emotional over hearing all this about Cecil.   
“He also loves your teeth. I agree with him on that, your teeth are stellar. I’m pretty sure he thinks you’re the most attractive person he’s ever seen. I don’t know if it’s in the way like, he sees you as some art piece that he just wants to stare at, or if, like, it’s in a gay way. Also, are you gay? Because before Cecil and mom and me left the building like forever ago she said something about a mother always knowing but she was really unconcerned so, like, are you gay and told mom before me?” Carlos was having trouble getting a word in.  
“Uh, yeah. I’m gay.” Carlos blushed, talking about his love life to his baby sister.  
“Dude, why didn’t you fucking tell me?” She playfully smacks his arm.  
“You’re my little sister! And you better watch your mouth, or mama’s going to get pissed.” Carlos joked. They laughed.   
“Follow up on the gay thing, do you like Cecil? Cause Mama is pretty sure you do, and from what I’ve heard from him, I’m pretty sure he’s in love with you.” Reyes smiled.  
“There’s no way he’s in love with me.” Carlos looked away. “We’ve only known each other for a few weeks, and ⅓ of that time I’ve been unconscious.”  
“You sound pretty sad about that, dude. You’re either lying to me or you’re lying to yourself. So which is it?” She poked his good leg.  
“You are wise beyond your years, you know that?” Carlos smirked.  
“That answers that question.” She smirked back. People have told them that they have similar smirks. Carlos smiled at the thought. “I miss that smile.”  
“Have you met Cecil’s niece? Janice?” Carlos asked.  
“Uhm, yes. I did.” Carlos was thrown off by Reyes’s uncharacteristically short response.  
“What? Do you not like her or something? I thought you guys were a lot alike.”   
“No! I mean, that’s not it. Carlos, do you know why she’s in the wheelchair?”   
“Yeah, do you?”   
“Yeah.” She paused. “I’ve never been friends with a mermaid before.”   
“What makes it different from being with a normal person in a wheelchair?” Carlos asked.  
“Just… she’s like… a magical creature. She’s like, the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. Her hair is so light and airy, and her skin is so pretty and golden and her eyes have like, the entire fucking ocean in them.” Reyes ranted. “And I’m me. I have black hair and black eyes and brown skin. She’s so colorful.”   
“Hey, our hair, eyes, and skin are beautiful, girlie. We always think that something different is more beautiful than something we’ve seen a thousand times, so she probably thinks you’re just as gorgeous as you think she is.” Carlos leaned to hug her.  
“You think so?” Reyes’s voice lifted in a way that made Carlos raise an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything.   
“Yeah.” He smiled and hugged her some more. She was only thirteen, she was allowed to figure herself out and think mermaids are beautiful without being interrogated by her big brother. There was another knock at the door.   
“I’ll get it.” She leaped up.  
“Wait-” He stopped her. “If it’s Cecil…” He paused, not sure what to tell her. She waited for an answer. She was making him choose, unlike Josie.  
“It’s definitely Cecil. It’s been two and a half hours since his last attempt. That’s like a new record.” Carlos pursed his lips.   
“Can you help me get this blanket over my legs?” He asked. She did. Carlos took a deep breath. “Send him in.” She clapped her hand excitedly the way teenage girls do. Carlos could hear her answer the door now that he was more awake.  
“Hey Cecil!” She chirped.  
“Reyes! What are you doing here? Is Carlos okay?” Cecil had emotion behind his voice, but overall he was composed.   
“He’s pretty good, actually. Hey, what’s Janice up to?” Carlos smiled to himself and wondered if Reyes was ever going to send Cecil in. She was certainly giving him plenty of time to prepare himself. The suspense was agonizing.  
“She’s at the community pool, getting some good exercise. You should go hang out with her, she’d love it.” Carlos could hear the smile in Cecil’s voice.  
“Awesome! Before I go, I need to let you know that Carlos has been awake for about an hour and a half.” Carlos could hear the mischievous smirk in her voice all the way from the bed.  
“What? Why didn’t you say that first?” Cecil exclaimed.  
“‘Cause I wanted to know where Janice was!” She giggled as she left. “Tell Carlos I said bye!”   
Carlos took another deep breath, letting the new oxygen clear his mind. He was ready to see Cecil again. He was not going to freak out. They were going to have a normal conversation, and Carlos was not going to freak out. He didn’t have to be afraid of Cecil. Carlos was going to be fine.


	5. He Never Would Have Thought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos faces Cecil for the first time since he sent Cecil off with his family, and things turn out differently than Carlos ever would have expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really hate these titles. i was way too tired when i wrote some of these titles

Cecil came slowly around the corner, like he had been waiting for this moment for a week but now that it was here, he didn’t know if he was ready. Carlos had the same feeling.  
“Carlos?” Cecil asked.   
“Hey. Hey, Cecil.” Carlos smiled weakly and patted the side of the bed where everyone had been sitting. He had calmed down since the emotional rollercoaster ride that was his conversation with Reyes, but the tears on his cheeks were likely still visible.  
“How… how are you?” Cecil looked Carlos up and down, inspecting.  
“I’m better. Talking to Reyes really made me feel better. I heard that talking to her did the same for you this week, too.” Carlos prodded with a tiny smirk.  
“Oh, uh, yes. Don’t tell a thirteen year old anything you don’t want their best friend to know, right?” He brushed his hair back in the way that Carlos liked to watch. “I’m glad you’re doing better.”  
“Thank you.” Carlos shuffled and cleared his throat. “So, uhm, how much did you hear about… what happened?”   
“Enough. I never should have left you in that building. Biggest mistake I’ve ever made.” Cecil declared seriously.  
“No, I mean… what about when they found me?”   
“Oh, well… I’m the one who sent the Erikas after you. They got the spit off your face and connected it to Kevin, which connected him to John, which was enough to get him locked up. Also, Kevin had left the documents you stole in the room you were in, so the Erikas turned those in to local police. Strexcorp is getting shut down. You did it, Carlos.” Cecil smiled weakly. Carlos could see that Cecil had suffered a lot just imagining everything Kevin did to Carlos. Carlos wasn’t sure how that made him feel.  
“I never would’ve gotten tortured if I had just left. It was my fault. I just had to go get the documents.” Carlos scolded himself.  
“I agree. It was very stupid. But you did a good thing; you shut them down for good, Carlos! That’s a good thing. You’re very brave.” Carlos blushed a little, but then he remembered: he betrayed Cecil.   
“Cecil, I’m glad you’re telling me all that, but what I’m really asking… did you hear what I said about you?” Carlos squeaked. If he had said two more words he would have cried, and he wanted to be done crying for a long time. He didn’t want to cry until Reyes got married, in like, thirty years.  
“Oh. Yeah.” Cecil kept looking at Carlos, but Carlos was looking down, because he still felt like he was going to cry. He hated feeling so delicate.  
“I’m so sorry,” Carlos gave up on not trying to cry and let it loose. Not crying was beginning to hurt physically, and he was so tired of the pain. He still wasn’t sobbing, but the tears were coming, and not stopping anytime soon, which made Carlos irritated as well as distraught.  
“Oh, Carlos.” Cecil moved to sit right next to Carlos’s upper body and grabbed him carefully in the tightest and most reassuring hug he could give without hurting him, which was actually not very tight. “Oh, my perfect Carlos.”   
“Cecil, stop.” Carlos managed to whisper through his crying. “I’m not perfect. I said you were a monster. I betrayed you.”   
“Carlos.” Cecil stroked Carlos’s cheek, but played it off as if he was wiping a tear. “Please don’t cry anymore.” Cecil’s voice tipped at the end, as if he was saying “if you cry one more second I’m going to cry and it’s going to be way worse than what you’re doing right now.”   
“Carlos, you didn’t betray me.” Cecil extended all his tentacles at once and wrapped them around Carlos’s body like an eight-armed (including the human ones) hug. “Do you think I’m a monster now? Do you think I’ve ever been a monster in my life?”   
“No, no, of course not.” Carlos whimpered. He leaned his head into Cecil’s shoulder.  
“Then I’m not hurt. You do what you have to do when you’re in a situation like that. Please don’t feel bad about this for another second, my darling Carlos.” They worked together to get all the tears off of Carlos’s face.   
“I really don’t want to cry anymore.” Carlos laughed lightly, though he meant it fiercely. He didn’t want to cry anymore.  
“Okay. What else did you and Reyes talk about?” Cecil changed the topic to something pleasant.  
“She told me a couple things you told her… about me. Also, she asked if I was gay.” Carlos was planting a seed by saying that, and Cecil pounced on it just the way Carlos was hoping. He took the bait.  
“Um… are you?” Cecil asked, Carlos’s face still against the space between shoulder and chest.  
“Very.” Carlos chuckled, then danced away from that direction. “Also, she was talking a lot about Janice. Have you seen any of that?”   
“Oh, yes. The community pool reopened, because they finally got it clean of all the mystery fungi while we were away, and Janice has been practically living there. And when Reyes hasn’t been with me or you, she’s been there too. I went down there to read a municipally approved magazine by the pool and catch up on my tan, and I saw them splashing around. It’s great to see Janice use her tail. She swims like an extension of the water, and Reyes likes to wrap her arms around Janice’s shoulders and swim along. It’s pretty cute. It’s fun that we have family members that are girls the same age. From what I’ve heard, they have a lot in common.”  
“The same age-old wisdom.” Carlos broke in. Cecil nodded. Carlos wanted Cecil to talk more, so it would take the pressure of him. Carlos was so afraid that if he said more than two sentences at once, he would think about Kevin again and burst into more tears.  
“They both like sports. Playing, not watching. Reyes likes to draw some, and she’s been working on the same drawing for a few days. I think it’s of Janice.” Carlos grinned.  
“I draw too. She picked that up from me when we were a little younger.”   
“You draw? What do you draw?” Cecil looked entranced in Carlos, which Carlos decided not to acknowledge.   
“Well, mostly just science charts and little pictures here and there, but I like to draw beautiful things. From landscapes to people.” There was a pause. Carlos still kept it within two sentences, but they got longer.  
“That sounds neat.” Cecil whispered.   
“I’d, uh… I’d love to draw you sometime.” Carlos hoped Cecil understood the underlying compliment. They shared a comfortable silence. It wasn’t thick or heavy, like the bad silences, but light and sweet, like fine grains of sugar.  
“I know you’ve only been awake for a little while, but are you going stir crazy? Do you want to go somewhere?” Cecil half-smiled. It was wild how well he knew Carlos. Not like fun facts, silly details like favorite food or color… but deeper things. He could mostly tell what Carlos was feeling just by watching him, and it went both ways.   
“I’d love that.” Carlos sighed with relief. He looked around, not sure how he was going to get up and out. Carlos also didn’t want it to be awkward, since he was in his boxers. “Um, how am I going to get out of here?” Carlos motioned to his condition.  
“Oh, the Erikas left some crutches in the closet. Let me help you up.” Cecil offered. Carlos stopped him.  
“I’m not wearing pants.” He came right out and said. Cecil blushed, but Carlos was unashamed.   
“Ah. Do you need help with that…?” Cecil managed. Carlos nodded, and Cecil found a pair of jeans that had been waiting for Carlos to wake up. With awkward shuffling and light laughter, they got the loose pants over Carlos’s wrapped leg. Definitely the most intimate they had ever been in a non-crying situation, and it was a bonding experience to be remembered. Cecil then handed the crutches to Carlos, and they went out to Cecil’s car.   
“Where are we going?” Carlos asked. He looked outside and saw that the sky was couple of minutes from dimming.   
“It’s a surprise.” Cecil smirked without looking at Carlos. Carlos raised an eyebrow, but Cecil still didn’t look. They didn’t drive for long before Cecil stopped the car.   
Carlos waited for Cecil to come around to his door and help him out. He got out of the car with slight assistance and looked around. Cecil had taken them to a scene that Carlos couldn’t have imagined better. They stood on what looked like a pier, except that instead of overlooking a lake, it overlooked a sea of sand dunes. The sun started to set, sinking below the larger dunes on the horizon. The sand glowed gold, and Carlos had never felt so calm.  
“Cecil… it’s beautiful.” Carlos gasped happily.   
“I know.” Cecil sat down on the wooden platform, feet dangling off the edge, just like you would sit on a normal pier. Carlos sat down next to him. There was only a couple inches in between them, but neither of them thought anything of it.  
“What is this place?” Carlos marveled. He had yet to see the hidden gems of Night Vale. He hoped Cecil could, little by little, take him to them all.  
“Night Vale has some legends, and no one is sure how much is truth. They say that all of Night Vale used to be an ocean, but land covered it over the course of hundreds or thousands of years. It would explain this pier, and why there are so many people around who vaguely resemble oceanic creatures. Like myself.”   
“So, the tentacles and such, that’s all hereditary? All your ancestors have had them?” Carlos asked.   
“Most of them. It’s possible for someone like me and someone unlike me to reproduce. The tentacles are a dominant gene.” Carlos wasn’t sure, but he thought he understood what Cecil was trying to tell him so subtly. “Everyone was surprised when Janice came along. I mean, one of her biological contributors had very nonstandard biology from the waist down. I never asked my sister how that happened. At first, when she was pregnant, I thought she had cheated on him. It just made sense, and I never thought he was a very good guy. But sure enough, Janice got his lack of legs.”   
“Reyes is captivated by Janice’s tail. She’s always liked mermaids, and now she’s got one as her friend.” Carlos chuckled. “I don’t think she has a problem with staying in Night Vale.”   
“Did she not have any friends back home?” Cecil asked.  
“Not really. She drifted alone. She’s always been a bit older than the other kids, mentally. She’s always been quiet around new people.”  
“Really? She never struck me as quiet.” Cecil commented incredulously.  
“I guess she got a good feeling from you.” Carlos shrugged.   
“What do you mean?” Cecil didn’t understand.  
“Oh, I don’t know. You just radiate soothingness. I felt it the first time I saw you up close. That’s why I was never very scared of you.”  
“Very scared? But… you were a little scared?” Cecil twiddled his thumbs.  
“Oh, well… yeah. They all made it sound like it would be a miracle if I even survived the first food delivery.” Carlos stopped himself from saying “feeding” and triggering Cecil back to his days as a lab rat. Cecil shook his head.  
“I’d never kill anyone who didn’t try to kill me first.” Cecil whispered. “I can feel other people’s pain if it’s right there in front of me. I’d never hurt anyone on purpose unless I had to.”  
“You don’t have to defend yourself to me, Cecil. I know you’re a kind soul.” Carlos caught Cecil’s eyes. They gazed at each other, and Carlos smiled. Cecil smiled too.  
“I missed that smile.” Cecil muttered as he broke the eye contact. Carlos chuckled. “What?”  
“My sister said the same thing.”   
“Hm. Well, you have a great smile. Your teeth are excellent.” Cecil praised. “And, just wondering, have I mentioned how amazing your hair looks?” Carlos blushed and thought back to what Reyes said. She tried to warn him about Cecil’s… interest. “It’s gorgeous.” Cecil reached out slowly to touch it, waiting to see if Carlos was going to stop him before threading his fingers in the front of Carlos’s hair. Carlos closed his eyes and absorbed the sweet feeling. Cecil placed his other hand down to steady his lean, and just happened to land it right on top of Carlos’s. Carlos opened his eyes to look at Cecil, surprised by the touch, but neither man pulled away. They stared into each other’s eyes.   
“Cecil, why do you… why are you so… what do you really think is so great about me?” Carlos shrunk himself down nervously.  
“Carlos!” Cecil gasped. “You’re… you’re just… everything. You’re… well, to start, you’re very attractive.” Cecil and Carlos both blushed. “And, correct me if you disagree, but I feel a… connection between us. I feel like… like we’re on the same mental wavelength, you know?”   
“I agree.” Carlos still didn't look at Cecil’s eyes, and instead gazed down at their overlapping hands.   
“I’m also very fascinated by your science.” Cecil confessed.  
“Really? I didn’t think you’d be a big fan of science after… everything.”   
“No, my Carlos, that was bad science. You’re full of good science. I love it.” Carlos pondered that. Good science and bad science. He wanted to get to know more about what ‘good science’ was. He didn’t want to be involved in bad science ever again.  
“What… what else do you love?” Carlos asked. He would say and do anything just to hear Cecil continue talking about things that made him happy. It was spellbinding.   
“Oh, um…” Cecil thought about it. “I love the sun and space, even though they don’t make any sense.” Carlos restrained himself from correcting Cecil and letting him know that those things made a lot of sense, and deciding to save that for the future. He smiled at the thought of a future full of moments like this one. “I love saltwater. When it touches my skin, I tingle. It’s like a non-addictive drug. It’s calming.” Cecil paused. “I love iced drinks. I drink ice with everything. What do you love?” The question caught Carlos off guard.  
“Me?”   
“Yes, sweet Carlos. I’m… I’d love to know what you love.” Carlos wanted to say he loved the way that Cecil looked and sounded when he talked about thing he loved, and he wanted to ask why Cecil had a similar look when he said Carlos’s name, but he didn’t.  
“I love the quiet. I love when I can sit with someone or by myself, and the only noise is the wind or beakers clattering.” Carlos began. “I love a good companion. As much as it soothes to be alone, nothing beats someone to share a moment with.”   
“Am I a good companion?” Cecil looked at Carlos, and Carlos finally had the guts to look back at him.  
“The best.” Cecil grinned joyously, and it made Carlos smile too. The sun had completely set, and the moon barely illuminated their faces in the deep darkness. The white light of night perfectly illuminated the colors in Cecil’s eyes. At first glance, from a distance, they looked dark and scary. But up close, the were beautiful, and magnificent. Carlos realized he wasn’t even describing Cecil’s eyes anymore; he was describing Cecil. Carlos finally noticed the deep, chiseled curves of Cecil’s face, neck, and arms. Carlos nearly swooned, finally getting to truly admire Cecil in a setting that wasn’t awkward or frightening.  
What Carlos had said about the quiet had materialized, and they just gazed at each other, one hand on top of the other’s. Carlos picked his other hand up and found Cecil’s free one. He twirled Cecil’s fingers in his, hoping his palm wasn’t too sweaty and that Cecil wasn’t about to pull away and freak out. Somehow, Carlos had confidence he wouldn’t. Cecil shifted his shoulders as to say, “what are you waiting for?” and Carlos took the hint. He leaned forward slowly, anxiety forgotten, and they met nearly halfway in a long-awaited kiss that felt like flying and tasted like a summer breeze. Carlos soaked in the moment, memorizing the feel and taste and smell of Cecil in case he never got the chance to do this again. They pulled away and looked at each other with nervous expressions. Cecil smiled, and broke the veil of panic that had almost overtaken Carlos. Cecil leaned back in quicker, and they kissed through their matching smiles. It was sweet like coconut, and Carlos couldn’t believe how soft Cecil’s lips were. It was like kissing a cloud. Carlos sighed with more happiness and contentment than he had ever felt. They didn’t come up for breath for an almost comical amount of time, their lips separating and coming back together over and over again, new waves of sweet slickness coming over them with each press. The grip of the hand-holding strengthened, like they couldn’t bear to let go. They didn’t want to. Holding each other just barely and kissing in the moonlight was perfect. They pulled away, feeling the best they ever had, and sighed. Carlos dipped his head back in the curve of Cecil’s shoulder. Everything felt at peace. It felt so perfect. Neither of them could explain it, but as miniscule as they were in comparison to the rest of the world and space, it was like the universe had been waiting, counting down the seconds until they finally realized what they were to each other. Carlos couldn’t quite place where he had felt that before.   
They sat on the pier for what felt like hours. It very well could have been hours, but Carlos had no way of knowing. The moon was towards the center of the sky. Carlos leaned up so he could properly look at Cecil. The glorious moonlight reflected off of Cecil’s pearly skin. He couldn’t help thinking about how beautiful Cecil was, and how it took him far too long to realize it. He always saw Cecil as beautiful in the way that you think a sunset is beautiful, but now he saw entire layers of beauty that he had been too scared to let himself see. His eyes looked at Carlos, and Carlos could see through them that Cecil was having similar thoughts. Cecil stroked Carlos’s cheek without pause, and even though they had only been romantically involved for the one night, there was nothing too sudden about the gentle touch. Eventually, Carlos was the one to break the silence.  
“Do you think anyone’s going to be worried about us?” Carlos asked quietly.   
“Oh, god.” Cecil groaned with a hard face palm. “I should not have kept you out this late, Carlos.”   
“Hey, I’m not some teenager with curfew.” Carlos protested. Cecil looked at him pointedly.  
“Well, true as that is, the Erika’s need to re-wrap your leg. They might we worried, and that would not be good.”  
“Why? What are they like when they’re worried?” Carlos tried to pry, but Cecil just shook his head.  
“You don’t want to know.” Carlos shook it off.  
“Fine. Hand me my crutches?”  
“No time for that.” Cecil grinned mischievously. Carlos was about to ask what he meant when Cecil scooped Carlos up in his arms and carried him to the car, using a single tentacle to get the crutches on his way. Carlos giggled like a child, and felt so unbelievably happy. It was hard to believe that his life had no purpose at all so shortly ago, before he found Cecil. Now, he was doing good things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so cute. i'm dead always


	6. The Settling and Unsettling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos settles in, but unsettling things happen. Hence... the title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so creative. that title? wow. modern art

Carlos was exhausted. When he and Cecil got to Josie’s house, the angels rewrapped Carlos’s leg, and insisted he stay the night there. Cecil protested that Carlos should come back to his place, but Carlos didn’t want it to be… weird. Going and sleeping in the same house with someone you’d just had your first kiss with seemed a bit fast. Febe offered Carlos as long as he needed with her and Reyes.  
“You have a place?” Carlos asked incredulously.  
“Sí, they found us a little house in the neighborhood on the outskirts of town.” Febe answered.  
“I know that neighborhood. It’s really close. You can call me if you need me, Carlos.” Cecil smiled. Carlos blushed.   
It was settled. Carlos rode to the little house with Febe and Reyes. It was small and mint green. It looked like a beach house inside and out, which was odd, considering they were in a desert. Carlos was still coming to terms with the fact that nothing in Night Vale was normal. He went inside and plopped down on the couch.  
“Bebé, I’m making you some chocolate cinnamon tea.” Carlos’s mother announced as she came in. Reyes sat on the couch next to him.  
“I haven’t had that stuff in forever.” Carlos mused. Once Febe was out of earshot and sight in the kitchen, Reyes spoke up.  
“So, what was it like?” She grinned.  
“What?”  
“Kissing Cecil! Like I couldn’t tell. You guys couldn’t stop looking at each other and blushing like kids.” She teased.  
“You are a kid.” Carlos retorted. He thought he and Cecil had kept it pretty cool, but he also knew there really was no getting this stuff past Reyes.  
“Don’t hold back on the details.” She widened her eyes.  
“Reyes, you’re my baby sister. I’m not telling you all about my kiss with Cecil. That’s embarrassing.” Carlos protested.  
“Fine.” She exasperated. “I knew that. Don’t worry, I’ll let you choose whether to tell Mama.” She paused. “I’m really happy for you, Carlos. I like Cecil.”   
“Thanks, Reyes. That means a lot.” They had a heavy silence. He looked at her. She was thinking deeply. Carlos wondered what. He had never been able to read her quite as well as she could read him. She tapped her finger on her knee rapidly and sporadically. “What’s on your mind?” He finally asked. She looked around like she didn’t know how to answer that.  
“Carlos,” She started. “Why do you hide so much from me?” Her voice trailed off in volume.  
“What?” The question shocked him. “You mean with Cecil?”  
“No, no.” She bit her lip. “I get why you wouldn’t tell me everything. That’s… that’s fine. I mean… why didn’t you tell me what you really did for work? Or that you were barely an hour’s drive from home?”  
“Oh.” He sucked in a breath. “I didn’t want you to have to handle the weight and danger of what I was doing. I wanted you to have a childhood for as long as possible.”   
“Carlos… I know you like to think that my life is sweet and happy and like… yeah, I’m a little girl who loves her mommy and big brother and likes to doodle and sing… but I’m not a kid. I’m not a baby. And… and… and it was much harder for me to deal with life without you around than it would have been to know that you had a sketchy job.” Carlos hadn’t even considered that life wasn’t perfect back home. “I needed you, Carlos. Yeah, Mama was around, but you’ve always been so important to me. I would think about all the things I wanted to tell you, but then I’d remember you were gone. And I couldn’t even write you an email because you left us no way to reach you. I thought one of us had done something wrong. I missed you.” Her eyes misted.   
“What happened while I was gone?” He dared to ask. She looked around, swallowed hard, and leaned her head on Carlos’s shoulder.   
“I realized I don’t like dudes.”   
“Okay… what made that so hard?”   
“Carlos, I know you’ve always been so proud of being gay, and I guess I am too, but it just means there’s fewer options out there for me. And I’m not just into girls… I think I’m asexual.”   
“Really? I don’t mean to doubt, but are you sure you just feel that way because you’re so young?” Carlos asked.  
“No, I know it. I feel it in my heart. I’m just…” She drifted off. “I’m scared Janice will think I’m weird.” She blurted so fast Carlos almost didn’t understand it.  
“Janice? You like her?” Carlos smirked, but Reyes couldn’t tell with her head on his shoulder.  
“I-I think so. She’s really… something.” Carlos chuckled. “What?”  
“I told Cecil he was really something, a couple of times, I think. But Reyes, Janice is not going to think you’re weird. For God’s sake, she has a tail. Nothing in Night Vale is normal.”  
“Hm. You’re right. Thanks, Carlos.” She looked up at him and smiled a little.  
“I know I’m right.” He kept a straight face and she giggled. “And you don’t have to worry about that conversation for a long time.” Carlos assured her. He was not letting his little sister rush into anything. Febe returned with the tea.  
“Gracias, mamá.” Carlos drank a sip of the tea and his whole childhood came flooding back. It was extraordinary. The tea was just the same as it always was. Febe sat down in a chair next to them.   
There wasn’t a need to speak. They were enjoying the time with the people they loved. Eventually, Febe brought up some cute memories of Carlos and Reyes as babies, and they laughed about all of that until it got late enough for them to turn in. Carlos’s mother showed him to the bedroom he could sleep in. He changed into pajama pants and practically passed out the instant he got under the blankets.  
“Did you miss me, pretty?” Kevin whispered. Carlos was back with Kevin, strapped to the table in the ominously lit room. Carlos screamed, but he couldn’t hear himself, only Kevin’s laughter.  
Carlos continued to scream, even after he realized it was only a dream, he was in the bed in the house with his family, it was fine, he was okay, but he didn’t feel it. He kept screaming, and screams turned to sobs after Reyes and his mother ran in to check on him.   
“Carlos, it’s okay, you were dreaming.” They tried to insist, hugging him close, but he pushed them off.  
“No no no no no no… no no no…” Was all he could say. He felt his body shaking, the onset of a panic attack, and he had the impulse to scratch his hand. He didn’t realize he had been clawing at the bandage until Reyes slapped his hand away.  
“Stop it! Carlos, look at me!” Reyes knew what it meant when he started scratching, and she also knew the best way to calm him down. She was truly wise beyond her years. She forced Carlos’s head to meet her eyes. He gazed into them. He never even remembered them turning the light on. “Breathe with me.” She ordered. Carlos slowed his breathing to match hers. After about twenty minutes of this, he had calmed down.  
“You okay?” Febe asked worriedly. He nodded, but got out of bed.   
“I’m… fine. I need to… I need to see Cecil.” He decided, pulling on a shirt that wasn’t soaked with sweat.  
“Cecil? Why?” Reyes asked, hurt that she wasn’t enough to soothe him.  
“I don’t know. I just… I need to be somewhere that’s familiar. I only lived with him for a few weeks, but… I don’t know.” Carlos wasn’t even thinking about how sloppy he looked. He didn’t even bother to brush through his hair, or change into real pants. He just needed to go to Cecil’s house.  
“Carlos, it’s two in the morning.” Febe attempted. Carlos’s mind was made up. He hugged them both and left, not totally knowing where to go. He realized he could see Cecil’s apartment building from outside the house, so he decided he wouldn’t bother with the car. A short walk through the crisp night air could clear his head.   
As he walked down the street, he wondered what in the hell he was doing with his life. He hated himself for having a panic attack over a stupid nightmare. He just wanted to be past it. He wanted that part of his life to be over, but what really hit him was… what was he going to do next? Was he really going to stay in Night Vale as a scientist? There was plenty of science to study in Night Vale, and now his family was willing to stay… but Carlos couldn’t help but feel like everything was losing a meaning. He shouldn’t have kissed Cecil… it just meant he couldn’t leave. Not that he knew what he was going to do anyway if he did leave. He’d probably just fall back into the same habits. Now, he had an attachment to Cecil. Carlos didn’t want to leave Cecil, but what was he worth here? Cecil probably just thought he liked Carlos because he saved Cecil. Once Cecil accustomed back to his normal life, he was sure to lose interest and obsession with Carlos. Carlos almost turned around, but by then, he was right in front of Cecil’s door. He didn’t know what to do, so he just put his back against the wall by the door and slumped to the floor. He just sighed into his hands and sat there, contemplating what he was going to do. Suddenly, his phone rang. He checked it, and it was… Cecil? Why was Cecil calling him in the middle of the night? Given, Carlos was also about to wake him up in the middle of the night, but it was still strange. He picked it up.  
“Cecil?” Carlos answered.  
“Sorry for calling this late, Carlos. I was just… thinking about you. Also, why did I hear your ringtone from outside my front door?” Cecil sounded exhausted.  
“I was…” Carlos almost said he had a bad dream, but that made him sound like a little kid. He was sick of the pity. Carlos turned at the sound of a door opening. Cecil poked his head around.   
“Carlos? Do you want to come in?” Cecil offered, dazed.   
“Uh, yeah. I’d love to.” Carlos came inside, and Cecil guided him by placing his hand on the small of Carlos’s back. The simple gesture made Carlos’s spine tingle.   
“Are you okay?” Cecil asked. Carlos didn’t really know what to say.  
“I don’t know. I’m sorry I came over here so late. I’m just… I had a nightmare, and then a panic attack.” He explained.  
“Do panic attacks happen to you often?” Cecil sat down on the couch next to Carlos, inches between them.  
“Not really. Only when I get really anxious.” He breathed out calmly. “Which I guess has been fairly often, as of late. Why were you up?”  
“I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. I hate that I let you stay behind. It’s my fault you had to experience what Kevin is really like.” It then hit Cecil that he had probably experienced even worse than what Carlos had, and more often. He was overwhelmed by Cecil’s strength.  
“Cecil, how are you already back to normal? You were there for years. I was there for one night, and I can’t imagine myself sleeping well ever again.”  
“Truthfully, Carlos, I haven’t slept more than three hours at a time without medication since I got back.”   
“Can you spare a pill?” Carlos half-smiled.  
“Carlos…”   
“No, I know, I was kidding.” Cecil ran a finger on Carlos’s knee.  
“I called because I thought you might need it.” He smiled. He was right, of course. His bond with Cecil seemed to be unshakable, but still… Carlos knew that could change. It had only been a few weeks.  
“I’m glad you did. I don’t know if I would have had the guts to knock.” Carlos looked away.   
“Your bed is still waiting for you. I put fresh sheets on it yesterday.” Cecil offered after a pause. Carlos nodded.   
“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.” Carlos confessed. Cecil was still moving his finger around on Carlos’s knee. It was calming.  
“I’ll sit with you until you fall asleep.” Cecil blushed after he said it. “I mean, if you want.”   
“Yeah. I do.” Carlos mumbled, feeling how tired he was with every inch of his body and every ounce of his soul. They went back to what used to be Carlos’s bedroom for that short time, and Carlos got under the covers. Cecil sat on the side of the bed and watched him.  
“You can get comfortable, if you want.” Carlos told Cecil, who looked kind of awkward just sitting there. Cecil nodded and pulled his legs up on the bed. They weren’t touching, especially because Carlos was under the blankets and Cecil wasn’t, but they were facing each other. Cecil was propped up more, so it wasn’t uncomfortable for either of them. Carlos almost didn’t feel it when Cecil stretched out his hand and brushed back Carlos’s hair from his face. Cecil’s long fingers ran across Carlos’s scalp from his hairline to the crown of his head. It was the softest, most relaxing touch Carlos had ever felt, and it reminded Carlos of the sweet kiss they had shared only so many hours ago. If his eyelids were not so heavy, he would’ve opened them to see what Cecil’s face looked like. He wondered if Cecil was watching him sleep, or if he was dozing off too. He fell asleep with a faint smile on his face.  
“Pretty…” A voiced rasped. “My pretty, pretty scientist… I’m not done with you…”   
Carlos woke up panting, with sweat plastering his pajamas to his skin and tears dried on his face. He struggled to slow his breathing once he realized he was alone in the bed. He had expected Cecil to leave once Carlos had fallen asleep, but he was still sort of disappointed that Cecil hadn’t stayed with him. When he checked his phone, he saw that it was after eight o'clock. Carlos calmed himself down, and thought that Cecil was probably awake and that he should go find him. Since he had lived in this bedroom before, his clothes were still in the dresser. He put on a t-shirt and some athletic shorts so he wouldn’t be in his sweaty clothes, and walked out of the bedroom on the crutches. The hallway was carpet, so the crutches made no sound as he walked. He turned the corner down the hall and heard Cecil talking to someone. He couldn’t hear anyone talking back, so he assumed Cecil was on the phone. He was about to reveal himself when he heard what Cecil was saying.  
“Are you kidding me? How did a psychopathic murderer just disappear?! That man tortured countless people, including myself and a man I have grown to care about very strongly!” Cecil’s voice cracked at the end. Carlos clamped his hand over his mouth to hold in the gasp. Kevin had escaped. Carlos’s dream flashed back in his mind. He felt his breath starting to get out of control, so he focused in on Cecil’s voice.  
“Why wouldn’t I tell Carlos?” Cecil asked the person on the phone. “He’s in his bed in my apartment. He came over last night after a stress nightmare gave him a panic attack.” A pause. “Okay, I see what you mean. It would probably just worry him even more to tell him, but… are you sure the secret police are tracking him right now?” Another pause. “Alright, alright. Send a few extra officers to watch the building. We’ll stay inside.” Carlos decided he had heard enough. He turned the corner, but Cecil’s back was to him.  
“Cecil?” He called quietly. Cecil turned around, surprised to see Carlos and embarrassed for being caught talking about him.  
“Thank you. I have to go.” Cecil hung up the phone and looked at Carlos. “Good morning. How do you feel?”  
“Better.” He breathed deeply. “Were you really not going to tell me about Kevin escaping?” Cecil looked down in shame.  
“I didn’t want you to be upset.” He looked deep into Carlos’s eyes, searching for forgiveness.  
“I’m not a child, Cecil. You’re patronizing me, and it’s so unlike you. Also, how are you not upset? You knew the same side of Kevin that I did.”   
“I’m keeping calm for both of our sakes.”  
“You don’t have to be strong for me, Cecil. I can handle it, and you’re aloud to be upset.” Carlos walked over to the couch near Cecil and collapsed on it. Cecil plopped down next to him and laid his head on Carlos’s shoulder. It was relaxing for both of them.  
“I know.” Cecil sighed, and Carlos heard his breath shaking. Carlos stroked Cecil’s head, and they simply stayed there, and enjoyed each other’s presence. Both of them were worried, but they were beyond words. All they wanted to do was lie together and let the world melt off of their shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thnx for reading ily. also this sibling love makes me cry every time


	7. All Monsters Are Human Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...yikes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this title makes me want to go fuck myself because it's so lame and i already used it but whooooo caressss. i love all my readers   
> this takes place literally right after the last one.   
> this is a little fucked up again, but not as much i don't think

After a beat of silence, Cecil spoke again.   
“Also, the Erikas want to change your leg bandages again.”  
“Again? How often do they need to be changed?” Cecil shrugged in response.   
“Do you want me to drive you over there? I still can’t believe you walked all the way here on crutches.” Cecil offered.  
“My leg doesn’t hurt or anything. I think another walk would be good for me.”   
“Are you sure? Josie is all the way on the edge of town.”   
“Cecil, yes. You don’t have to worry about me.” Carlos assured him.  
“Can I at least ask the Secret Police to send someone to watch you?” Cecil pleaded.  
“If it gives you peace of mind.” Carlos sighed. He changed into fresh clothes, courtesy of Cecil, and headed for the door. Cecil told him to wait. He looked at him with a world of thoughts appearing on his face. Cecil hugged Carlos tightly. Carlos could not hug back because he was holding his crutches, but when Cecil pulled back, Carlos sneaked a small kiss on Cecil’s cheek. Cecil blushed.   
“Are you going to work today?” Carlos asked.  
“Probably not. Why?” Cecil leaned casually against the door frame. His nonchalance made Carlos swoon.  
“Oh, I was just going to say… I’ll call you after I get patched back up, and maybe we could… do something?” Carlos maintained eye contact, though he was nervous.   
“I’d like that.” Cecil smiled. They said their goodbyes, and Carlos left on his way to Josie’s house. He hummed a song to himself, feeling optimistic about life.   
Suddenly, as he neared the edge of town out by the car lot, he heard a heavy footstep. He turned around, but there was no one there. He turned back the direction he was walking, and right in front of his face by a few inches, was Carlos’s worst fear.  
Kevin.  
Carlos let out a scream as Kevin punched him straight in the mouth, knocking Carlos to the ground, which would not have happened had Carlos not been on crutches. Carlos tried to get up and hobble away, but Kevin knew he had the control over the situation. He soaked up the fear in Carlos’s eyes hungrily as he punched Carlos again, this time in the temple. Carlos was overwhelmed with fear, but at the same time, he was not paralyzed. Through blurred vision and unsteady consciousness, he kicked Kevin in the gut, making him stumble back. Kevin just chuckled. He leaned over Carlos.   
“Did you miss me, Pretty?” Was the last thing Carlos heard before Kevin knocked him completely out with a hard kick to the side of the head.  
Carlos was groggily surprised to find that he was not in the same dark part of the old office building where Kevin had once held him, though he immediately realized how idiotic Kevin would have been to take Carlos back to the same place. Carlos instead found himself in a room he did not recognize, though there was a window that showed him that he was in an attic of a house. The lights of the room were off, but the sun lit a part of the room through the window. He had a thick handkerchief in his mouth, very effectively gagging him. He was on the floor, the only restraints being his hands and his ankles tied together, but not to each other. If his leg hadn’t been broken, he would have been able to get up, despite how badly his head hurt. He did not see an entrance or exit to the room, not even stairs to a lower floor. He turned around to see if either of those things were behind him and instead saw a smiling Kevin a few feet away. His eyes widened with fear the same time that Kevin’s smile somehow got even wider.   
“Hello, pretty. How nice of you to wake up.” He greeted. It was in that moment that Carlos realized Kevin had ripped open Carlos’s (Cecil’s) shirt. Carlos remembered the “K” that Kevin had carved into him. He whimpered as Kevin approached, feet heavy. He was horrified of what he thought Kevin might do. He knew he wouldn’t have the same strength as last time.  
“I’d like you to know that no one knows where we are, and no one would hear you if you screamed. Trust me, you’ll be screaming soon enough! But right now, I’d like you to speak.” Kevin pulled the gag down out of Carlos’s mouth.  
“How the hell did you get in to Night Vale?” Carlos demanded with bravery that surprised himself.   
“Why, the Night Vale police brought me here,” Kevin chuckled. “They wanted me to be ‘punished’ through their system. It wasn’t hard to get away once I was here! Lauren hid in the back of their car once the police got me, and she helped me escape! I just knew I had to come back and find you.” Carlos just scowled at him. Kevin crouched down and got very close to Carlos’s face.  
“You never should have been so rude to me before.” Kevin’s sharp teeth shined as he threatened Carlos. His breath smelled of fresh blood, and Carlos gagged.  
“You’re insane.” He spat.  
“Some would say the same about your sweet boyfriend. You know, the monstrous creature? Imagine if he spoke to a normal person about Night Vale for more than five minutes . He’d be sent to a crazy house within the day.” Kevin cheerfully pointed out. “Anyway, that’s enough talking. Should I gag you back?” Carlos said nothing.  
“If you have no preference, I’d rather leave it out. I can’t wait to hear you scream. You’ll likely regret not having something to bite down on.” Carlos glared at Kevin with intense hatred.  
Kevin stood up, looked down at Carlos for an amused moment, and stomped down with immeasurable force down on Carlos’s broken leg. Carlos cried out and gritted his teeth. Just when it was finally healing.   
“You know that’s just the beginning, pretty.” Kevin leaned back down and stroked Carlos’s cheek.  
“What do you want?” Carlos groaned.  
“Why, I just want you to suffer for as long as it’s still fun for me! After that, I’m going to inflict one final pain on Subject NV01.”   
“What are you going to do to him?” Carlos spouted aggressively.   
“Don’t worry, you won’t be there to see it. Well, you’ll be there, but you won’t see it.” Kevin chuckled at his own word choice.  
“What are you talking about?” Carlos barked.  
“Oh, pretty. I thought I was very clear. I’m going to cut you up beautifully and watch you bleed out, then deliver your corpse to the Subject. Whatever the nature of your relationship, I know you mean such a great deal to him! It will be the last straw. The thing that finally breaks his spirit. Then he’ll probably just turn himself in, he’ll be so emotionally destroyed.” Carlos’s breath shook. Kevin was going to kill him. Did anyone know where he was? Was he still in Night Vale? What happened to the officer that Cecil sent to watch Carlos? Josie and the angels were expecting him, so they had to be looking for him.   
Would anybody find him in time?  
His thoughts were interrupted by Kevin stomping on his leg again. Carlos yelled out again.  
“Pay attention, pretty. No daydreaming.” Kevin stroked Carlos’s bear chest, tracing the “K”. “I don’t think I carved this deep enough.” Kevin pondered. He pulled a familiar knife out of his back pocket and showed it to Carlos, letting the flat side of the blade touch Carlos’s cheek. The cold was sobering. He felt sure that he’d have that K carved into his chest until the day he died, which was likely already upon him. Carlos felt his eyes water. Kevin noticed.   
“Losing hope so soon?” Carlos said nothing, gazing down. Kevin grabbed his chin without warning and forced Carlos to meet his eyes. “Look at me, pretty.” He whispered. Still holding Carlos’s chin, squeezing his cheeks with his meaty fingers, Kevin dragged the knife, jagged side, down Carlos’s cheek, then his neck, then over his collarbone, stopping at the “K”. He pressed down just hard enough that it cut all the way down, but not drastically. It stung, but Carlos knew there was no point in struggling. With his limbs tied and his leg broken, there was no way he could fight back. He couldn’t see any way out of the room either besides the window, but most attic windows don’t even open. He just winced. He wasn’t trying not to cry out, but it was like all the screams had already left his body. Kevin was going to kill him anyway, and there was nothing to scream for.   
“Carlos, Carlos.” Kevin tsked. “You know I don’t like it when you stay silent.” He got so close to Carlos’s face that he could see every fleck of kelly green in Kevin’s eyes. He swallowed, but decided to continue not reacting. If he could have one slice of rebellion in his final moments, he would feel like he had done the people he loved well. Even as Kevin moved the knife to the part of Carlos’s chest where the top of the “K” started and began pressing down even harder than the original time, Carlos bit his tongue so hard it drew blood, all the while staying silent. It was a good thing, Carlos decided, that he wasn’t going to see past that day, because this time, the “K” was definitely going to scar. The longer Carlos suppressed his groans, the harder Kevin sliced through his flesh. Blood poured down Carlos’s delicate chest; he felt his skin being sliced deeper and deeper, but still, he stayed silent. Thinking of Cecil filled him with strength and bravery. Carlos opened his eyes as Kevin finished the last part of the “K”, and saw something he was not prepared for. Kevin was frowning. He was scowling at Carlos, and obvious anger glowed on his face. Carlos dared to look down at his own chest and saw it painted deep red. He felt woozy.  
“You… will… scream!” Kevin growled, eyebrows furrowed.  
“Never.” Carlos retorted. Suddenly, a grin creeped across his own face. He began to cackle. He couldn’t explain why. Carlos questioned his own sanity. He laughed louder as Kevin’s face went red with anger. He grabbed Carlos by the throat.   
“I will make you feel pain!” Kevin swore. He threw Carlos to the floor, knocking his head. Still, Carlos made no sound other than mad laughter. Kevin stood up and stomped his foot to the floor. He paced in a circle, then smiled again, as if he had a revelation. Carlos’s smile melted off of his face, like Kevin had stolen it for himself. Kevin suddenly lurched forward and buried the knife into Carlos’s shoulder. Carlos screamed with agony, never having felt a pain so deep into his body. Kevin yanked the knife out and buried it into the damage flesh again, and Carlos cried out miserably. Kevin laughed maniacally. Carlos felt hot tears drip down his face. He would never see any of his loved ones again. Everything he had done to keep them… was for nothing. He was going to die. It was all crashing down upon him.  
The tears on one side fell down so far as to burn the cut that dragged down his neck. He gritted his teeth together so hard he was afraid he might shatter them. Blood spurted out of his body as Kevin pulled the knife out and stepped back. Carlos collapsed back on the floor and lied there in agony, red eventually pooling around his shoulder.  
“I told you.” Kevin smiled and cackled. “You won’t die from that.” Carlos was positive that Kevin was wrong about that. Carlos didn’t remember much from anatomy, but he felt confident there was no way Kevin missed every single major blood vessel in his rage. His ears were ringing, and he was losing consciousness. Kevin kicked his broken leg. “Stay awake!” He demanded, but Carlos wasn’t listening, and he didn’t care. His vision was going dark.  
“Cecil…” He muttered as he closed his eyes. He wasn’t unconscious, but he felt like he was. Kevin assumed he had passed out. Carlos barely felt the hand stroke his face, or the other hand stroke his thigh. He barely heard the whisper of, “so pretty,” from Kevin. Carlos decided to hold his breath, which he had always had a knack for. Kevin noticed his chest stopped moving and checked Carlos pulse. The stopping of breath had slowed Carlos’s pulse enough along with the loss of blood (as well as Kevin being bad at being able to tell whether someone is dead) allowed him to keep up the facade of being dead.   
“Fuck.” Kevin exclaimed uncharacteristically. “Fucking… hell. I wasn’t… I wasn’t done. Carlos! Pretty pretty Carlos!” Kevin slapped Carlos in the face, but Carlos was so weak it was easy for him to not react. “Fuck! I… ugh! This is awful. I didn’t want this to happen. Dammit! Not like this…”  
Carlos felt the need to vomit at listening to Kevin mourn the loss of his plaything.  
“Fine. I’ll just have to give you to your boyfriend before I wanted. I really thought you had more blood than that! I’m sincerely sorry we couldn’t finish our fun.” Carlos sincerely hoped that Kevin was not going to have more fun with Carlos, and really was just going to dump off his body to Cecil. Kevin reached into Carlos’s pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Carlos heard the ringing that meant that Kevin was calling someone on speaker.  
“Carlos? Where are you? You never made it to Josie’s and we’re all so worried-” Cecil’s voice began. Carlos barely managed to stay still and appear dead when he heard Cecil.   
“Not Carlos, I’m afraid.” Kevin giggled as he interrupted. He seemed back to his delightfully sadistic self.  
“What have you done with him?! We will find you, Kevin!” Cecil yelled. Kevin laughed again.  
“No need for that. I’ve already had some fun with your scientist boyfriend. I’m ready to give him back, though I wasn’t quite done… the human body really is so fragile.”   
“What did you do to Carlos?” Carlos heard Cecil’s voice breaking, and he hoped no tears would leak out of his own eyes and reveal his life to Kevin.  
“Several things.” Kevin paused. “I’m going to be honest with you, though I’m not sure why, considering your kind is so inferior. Perhaps I’m feeling sympathetic.” Kevin’s smile was audible. “But I didn’t mean to kill him so soon. He bled far more than I was expecting from the stab wounds.”   
“You… you killed him?” Cecil whimpered. Carlos wanted to sob and shout, I’m fine! But he knew he could not. He just had to lie there, and listen to Cecil’s heart break. His own heart shattered at Cecil’s voice, already grieving for someone who was right there listening. Carlos slowly breathed just enough to not actually pass out.   
“I stabbed him, yes. He bled out so quickly! I was going to kill him eventually, but I assumed he would be more durable. It was like poking several large holes into a very big water balloon. To what location would you like his body delivered?” Kevin asked. He heard Cecil start to cry on the other end, and he felt such sadness in him. A deep despair overcame Carlos internally. He hoped Cecil could hold on just long enough for Kevin to reunite them.  
“If you don’t have a preference, I’ll just drop his corpse off on the sidewalk where I found him, by the edge of town. He is so gorgeous like this, covered in blood and tears. His abs are terrific!”  
“You don’t get to talk about him like that.” Cecil growled possessively through his mourning. Carlos tried his best not to imagine Cecil in their once shared apartment, sobbing on their once shared couch. He tried so very hard. His face was so wet from prior tears, as well as blood, that he couldn’t even tell if he was crying again or not. He could only hope.  
“I disagree. I can talk about him however I want. Here, let me show you how lovely he looks.” Carlos could tell that Kevin was texting a picture of him to Cecil. It was so horrible and sadistic that Carlos couldn’t believe it. He heard Cecil’s gasp on the phone, followed by true weeping. Carlos would have reacted the same if the situations were reversed.  
“Anyway, I told you where he’ll be. I’ll dump him in a couple of hours. Maybe I’ll wait until tomorrow. Who knows! Life is full of surprises.”   
“You’re a disgusting monster.” Cecil enunciated clearly.   
“Says the one with tentacles! Too bad all those appendages couldn’t save your little scientist like he saved you.” Kevin chuckled. Carlos felt the phone slide back into his own pocket, and he knew that Kevin had hung up. His eyes burned with the need to release tears, but he held them back. Now that Kevin’s focus was back on him, he held his breath as well. He did his best not to imagine the state that Cecil was in at that moment.   
“I lied to that beast.” Kevin chuckled. Carlos wasn’t sure if he was talking to him or himself. “I’m dropping you off now. I just didn’t want him to send anyone out there! That wouldn’t end well for me.”   
Kevin picked Carlos up bridal style. Carlos stayed limp. He knew that a lot of blood had to be getting on Kevin, but something told him that Kevin was more than okay with that. Kevin kicked something, and began walking down some stairs. Carlos had no idea where they came from, but he knew he couldn’t open his eyes. Kevin then kicked open a door and carried Carlos out.   
He then set Carlos down in the backseat of a car. Carlos began to subtly breathe, just enough to not move too much, but he still didn’t risk opening his eyes or moving himself from how he was placed. Kevin drove for about ten minutes before he stopped the car, picked up Carlos again, and carried him several yards away from the car. He stepped on to the sidewalk and gently placed Carlos down on the pavement.   
“I’m really quite distraught over this, as well as angry with myself for letting this happen. I was going to have so much more fun with you, pretty.” Kevin said outloud. “Though, I’m glad your end was painful, if premature. You deserved it, you pretty little traitor, and your fish boyfriend deserves to suffer for as long as he still cares about his little savior.” Kevin leaned down and touched Carlos’s bloodied chest before kissing his temple. “Goodbye, Doctor.” He finally said as he walked away. Carlos heard the car drive away, and he began to breathe. Though he was not dead or unconscious, he could not move very well. He could sort of move his wrist and fingers, but not on the side where he was stabbed. He was still bleeding, and knew that if Cecil waited too long to come look for him, then he would die for real. He hoped Cecil would come soon.   
“Carlos!” Came the cry less than twenty minutes later, granting Carlos’s wish. Cecil ran to Carlos and stood over his body. “Carlos, I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry” He sobbed incoherently. Carlos tried to move his hand to show that he was alive. He barely managed to open his eyes. Hearing Cecil mourn him while he was lying limply in his arms was the worst this Carlos had ever heard, worse than anything Kevin had ever said.   
“Cecil.” He whispered. No voice came out, only air forming words.  
“Oh my god, Carlos!” Cecil cried with a blurry combination of confusion, fear, and happiness. “How- what- you need medical attention!” Carlos nodded, but Cecil probably didn't notice. Cecil picked him up the same way Kevin had and carried him, sprinting, to Josie’s house.   
“Erika! Erika! Josie! He’s not dead! I don’t know how, but he’s alive! Help him!” Cecil was smiling and sobbing with relief and joy, but also with fear that Carlos could still die. Carlos was put on a table as Erikas surrounded him, along with Josie. Cecil stood as close as he could without being in their way. On the side opposite the stab wound, he held Carlos’s hand. Carlos squeezed it with all his might as the Erikas began trying to cauterize and stitch up his shoulder. They didn’t have time for anaesthetic. He groaned, but it was no worse than the physical pain he had already been feeling for nearly an hour, and incomparable to the emotional pain he had suffered.   
“I thought I lost you, Carlos.” Cecil sobbed. Carlos tried to communicate everything he wanted to say in response within deep eye contact that they shared, but he felt like only words could fully say to Cecil everything he was feeling. Cecil understood some of it, or at least that there was a lot Carlos wanted to say, but could not with the amount of pain he was in. Cecil kissed Carlos’s hand. “I should have driven you.”  
“Not your fault.” Carlos muttered, again with only air and no voice in the words. He felt himself passing out.   
“Don’t let him fall asleep!” Josie ordered.   
“Carlos, Carlos, come on. Stay awake. They’re almost done. You can sleep when you’re not losing blood anymore, okay? You’re going to be fine, but you have to stay awake for now, okay?” Cecil insisted desperately. Carlos nodded weakly. “Focus on me. Look at my eyes.” Carlos did. He stared into Cecil’s deep blue-black eyes and felt himself being grounded down to earth. He locked in on Cecil’s voice, his pleads for Carlos to stay alive. He had so many things that he needed to say to Cecil, but first he needed to live.  
“Alright. Medicine isn’t going to cut it.” He heard Erika whisper.   
“You can’t be serious.” Another Erika whispered back. It seemed like Cecil could not hear them.  
“I am. He lost too much blood. Unless Josie or Cecil match his bloodtype…”   
“Carlos, what blood type are you?” The second Erika asked.   
“O bad.” Carlos managed to say. He couldn’t believe he said something so infantile. O bad? If he came out of this surgery alive, Carlos would never let himself live that down.  
“Cecil?” Erika asked.  
“A positive.”   
“Josie’s A negative.” The Erikas didn’t say anything for a moment.   
“What’s going on?” Cecil demanded.  
“He’s going to have to have our blood.” The first Erika announced to the other, ignoring Cecil.   
“Are you out of your mind? His veins could dissolve in his body.” The second Erika exclaimed, still quietly so that only Carlos and the other Erika could hear.  
“It’s his only chance, Erika.” Erika said intensely. The other Erika nodded solemnly.   
“Cecil, we have to use angel blood.” Erika announced.   
“Angels aren’t real.” Cecil contested. The Erikas looked at each other with a look that said “there’s really no hope convincing this guy”. One began drawing blood from the other while they told Cecil to put pressure on Carlos’s wound. They took the blood from Erika and transfused it into Carlos’s body. Carlos’s arm burned, as did the rest of him as the blood spread and pumped through his whole body. He groaned in discomfort. If he hadn’t been through so much already, it would have been a lot worse. Carlos’s pain tolerance was going through boot camp.  
“What are you doing to him?” Cecil demanded weakly and nervously.  
“Either saving him… or putting him out of his pain.” Erika confessed honestly.   
“His body has to accept the blood.” The other Erika clarified. “Or it’s over. We wouldn’t be able to find a human with O- blood in time. It’s his only shot. Hang in there, Carlos.” Erika assured him. Cecil squeezed his hand.   
The burning intensified, and Carlos thought about every word he never said to Cecil. His mind blanked on what he would say now if he knew they would be his last words. His body felt like he was dying, but… he couldn’t bring himself to say the words that sat in his throat like a toad. Then, the burning turned to tingling, which turned to a pleasant cooling feeling. His chest did not hurt anymore, and his shoulder had dulled to a throb.   
“He’s going to be okay!” Erika cheered. Cecil beamed with joy, and Carlos felt overwhelmed with every physical and emotional feeling he had experienced in such a short time.   
“Cecil, I…” Carlos attempted, but there was still no audible substance to his words. “I…” He was fighting himself to stay awake and finish his sentence.  
“What is it, Carlos?” Cecil tried to usher out, but Carlos was fading fast.   
“Losing consciousness is a natural reaction to the recent events. You can talk to him when he wakes up.” Carlos barely heard from Erika as he completely passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow forgot how long this chapter is... you get carlos's capture, experience, and rescue all in the same chapter. that's hot shit.  
> also i must be pretty fucked up because writing for kevin is so much fun. that bit where he gets mad because he thinks he accidentally killed carlos is like my favorite part. okay. i put a good chuckle in there to lighten things up. "o bad". i got a nice laugh out of that one. love ya, readers


	8. To Conclude...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a pleasant end to a... story with various levels of pleasant and unpleasant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like the end to all of this!

Carlos wanted, for just once, to wake up after falling asleep on his own terms, but that seemed to be a dream of the future. He had been moved from the kitchen table to the bed he had recovered in the previous time. As nice as Josie’s house was, he really hoped he would never have to sleep in this bed again. Looking around the room, he was alone. No Josie, no Erikas, and… no Cecil. Carlos’s body was not hurting. It felt tired, slightly weak, but he was not hurting. He found that his leg was freshly bandaged, and that his crutches were set against the wall. He also saw that he had been put in clean, untorn clothes. He peaked under his shirt and saw that his body was wrapped. Carlos pressed down very gently on his stab wounds to see how sensitive they were, but he didn’t feel anything. He didn’t press down harder, just in case, but it didn’t hurt for him to move around, so he sat up. That didn’t hurt either, so he stood up, all the pressure on his good leg. His bad leg hurt. They had actually casted his leg this time, since Kevin had worsened the damage a lot by kicking it. He hobbled to get the crutches and walked out of the room into the kitchen. There was still blood on the kitchen table, but Josie was there, scrubbing it off.  
“They fixed you up well.” She commented.  
“Yeah. I was pretty out of it while they worked on me, but did they say they used angel blood?” He asked. He looked at him.  
“Don’t think too hard about it. Don’t think too hard about anything that happened before this moment. Just be sure to thank Erika and Erika.”  
“I will.” He noticed that the sun was rising, which was odd, because by his calculations, he passed out around one in the afternoon. “How long did I sleep? This time.” He added as an afterthought.  
“All afternoon yesterday and all last night. It’s only seven am.” She informed him. “I made Cecil go to sleep in the other guest room around midnight. He really wanted to stay with you, but I made him sleep.”  
“Oh. Thanks for watching out for him.” Carlos grinned halfheartedly.  
“I could say the same to you. How are you feeling?”  
“Great, actually. Really great for someone that was stabbed and… everything.” Carlos looked at her pointedly.  
“You were so close to slipping away. Not everyone gets angel blood, but you mean so much to Cecil, and he means so much to me, and I mean so much to Erika and Erika and the rest of the angels. You’re a part of this family now.” She continued cleaning the table. When she mentioned family, Carlos gasped.  
“What about my mother and sister?” He asked.  
“You never have to tell them. No one else will.”  
“What? What about…” Carlos began.  
“The Sheriff's Secret Police sniped him in his car after he left you. Kevin is dead. You’ll never see him again.”  
“Thank God. What about…”  
“They caught Lauren, too. She’s going to the abandoned mineshaft.”  
“Okay.” Carlos considered everything. “Thank you.”  
“You’re welcome. Before you ask, last I saw Cecil was sitting on the swing on the back porch.” She informed him. Carlos laughed.  
“You already know me so well.” He smiled, heading towards the porch door.  
“Like I said, you’re a part of our family now. Welcome.” She smiled, walking over and rinsing the bloodied rag in the sink. Carlos went outside on the back porch to see Cecil, not in the swing, but sitting on the fence that lined the porch. It was about three feet off the ground, and had a flat top. Cecil was gazing out at the early morning sky, wearing sweatpants and a large t-shirt.  
“Good morning, Cecil.” Carlos greeted. Cecil spun around and dropped down from the fence. Carlos sat on the porch swing to rest his leg, and Cecil leaned against the house wall adjacent to Carlos.  
“Good morning. How are you feeling?” Cecil asked, twiddling his thumbs.  
“Worlds better than yesterday.” He replied, looking into Cecil’s eyes.  
“Carlos-” Cecil attempted.  
“Listen-” Carlos attempted at the same time.  
“You go first.” Cecil offered. Carlos nodded.  
“When I was lying on that table, all I was thinking was what I needed to say to you before I died. Now, I realize, I shouldn’t wait for a near death experience. I just… I need to say a lot of things now, and not right before I die, because if I wait until then, then you won’t be able to say some things back, because I’ll be dead, and well… I think you get it.” Carlos swallowed hard. “I’m… I’m really disappointed that we didn’t get to go out and do something yesterday like I wanted.” Cecil chuckled lightly.  
“That’s your big revelation that you wanted to tell me in your last moments?” He asked, bewildered.  
“No, no. That’s just… I just wanted you to know that. What I was going to say, is… I had a lot of thoughts on what I thought was my deathbed. A lot of thoughts… about you. And us. I was thinking about that kiss we shared the other night. I’ve actually been thinking about that nonstop since it happened, to be completely honest.” Carlos rubbed his arm awkwardly. “I was thinking about time. The past, the present, the future… and I was thinking about space. And how all the nothings make up all of the somethings. And how a home is a something made up of nothings, but really it’s a collection of memories shared between two people that are connected to a place. I think of you as my home, Cecil. You’re in my past, you’re in my present, and I want you to be in my future, too. At least… some of it. Maybe… hopefully, a lot of it. I decided that… I decided that if I could only say one sentence to you right before I died, it would be a very long run on sentence about every feeling I’ve had since the moment I first saw you. But if my last sentence was strictly ruled by grammatical correctness, then I would say that… that I… I love you, Cecil. I… I’ve loved you for a while, but I didn’t quite get it until I almost died. Which kind of sucks, because if I had died, you never would have known, and I never would have known what you think about that. About… about me loving you.” Carlos finished, taking a deep breath.  
“I… I, uh… I love you too, Carlos.” Cecil confessed back with a blush and a giggle at Carlos’s ramblings.  
“Really? That’s… I really want to kiss you right now, but I’m having a hard time getting up.” Carlos acknowledged, laughing at his own disabilities. Cecil laughed sympathetically too and helped Carlos up. He held Carlos around the waist for support, and they kissed. Carlos’s arms wrapped around Cecil’s neck to keep him up, and Cecil pulled him close. He then rotated Carlos and put him gently against the wall for even more support. Carlos giggled with happiness, and Cecil giggled back. Carlos played with the ends of Cecil’s hair on the back of his neck while they kissed. It was so unlike their first kiss, which has been short and shy, while this kiss was long, ongoing, and unashamed. It was confident, and proud. It was passionate with the fire of a new confirmed love. But at the same time, it was so similar. It was the same lips, the same man, the same taste, and the same feelings, only now they were recognized. Their kiss went on for what felt like an eternity in the clouds, though when it finally broke… it still didn’t feel like long enough.  
“I love you.” Carlos reiterated, as if Cecil didn’t already know.  
“I love you, too.” Cecil agreed, removing one hand from supporting Carlos’s waist to brush the gray patch at his temple to the side. They leaned in for another kiss. After that one broke, Carlos just rested his head on Cecil and pulled him into a hug.  
“I’m so lucky that you saved me.” Cecil whispered, voice heavy with emotion. “I’m so sorry I pulled you into all of this. It’s my fault you went through all of that with Kevin.”  
“I would go through a thousand Kevins if it meant I could have one of you.” Carlos reassured him. Cecil surprised him with a kiss that time, a kiss that said thank you for being you. Carlos melted into it. They sunk into each other’s hold, and once they tired of standing up, they sat on the swing and held each other some more. They were so close, their heartbeats synced up. They were like one person, except they weren’t. They were two people sharing a lot of love and a lot of care and a lot of heart. Two people sharing a past, a present, and a future. Two people sharing each other. Neither had ever been so happy to be alive and in that moment. Both of them were overwhelmed with how far they had come. Neither had known what a true love was until oh so recently, and neither would have imagined themselves where they were only a few short- yet so incredibly long- months ago. Carlos sighed. He liked the way the word “home” sounded on his tongue, and he liked it in reference to Cecil. Nothing in the world could throw anything at him that he couldn’t handle knowing he got to go home to Cecil. Beautiful, weird, unique, amazing, caring Cecil. They closed their eyes and let the bright risen sun warm their skin as this new love warmed their hearts. It was a good day in Night Vale. It was the first good day of a series of good days that began the start of a new life. A life… together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part three is out (and in progress)! thank all of you so much for reading. i love you all


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